


Water Dragon

by IrisRainbowWolf



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Daybreak Arc, F/M, I dont know how to tag, Macao Arc, more tags to come?, this is all new to me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:34:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24076036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrisRainbowWolf/pseuds/IrisRainbowWolf
Summary: Selina Heartfilia was adopted by Layla seven years ago, after her dragon-mother, Coventina disappeared without a trace. The girl had no memory of her past, only remembering her foster mother and the magic she had been taught by the dragon. Not too long after the adoption, Layla fell ill and died from magic deficiency. For seven years she lived alongside her adoptive sister, Lucy, both girls receiving nothing more than hurtful looks and neglect from the man who had been their father. Unable to take it, Lucy and Selina ran from home. Looking to join the greatest guild in all of Fiore, Fairy Tail.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 21





	1. The Fairy Tail

**1\. The Fairy Tail**

  
The only thing I knew about my past was that I was trained in a lost magic, by a Dragon. Her name was Coventina, Dragon of the Celestial Waters. Of course, I remembered my spells and my 'mothers' name.   
But not mine.   
I don't think I even had one before Layla and Lucy Heartfilia found me one day about seven years ago. Layla was amazed by the fact that I looked so much like her little girl and herself, of course. Only I had black hair while Lucy and Layla were blondes. It didn't take much convincing on Layla's part, and soon enough I was Jude and Layla's daughter. Selina Heartfilia.  
Sadly Layla passed away a few months later. Though Jude became almost cruel to Lucy and me, the two of us were never really alone. We were sisters and we had each other.   
Eventually, Lucy became a wizard, like her mother. We agreed that when we were old enough, we would leave home and join a guild. Obviously we had our sights on the most popular and awesome guild of all..... Fairy Tail.

  
\-----------------------------------------------

  
We had left home a few months ago, and it was great. I know I didn't regret the choice, and I could tell that Lucy was okay with it as well. Lucy and I didn't take much money with us. Hopefully, we would find our way to the Fairy Tail guild before it ran out.  
As we walked through the streets of Hargeon, Lucy and I kept our eyes peeled for a magic shop. I personally didn't need anything, but as a Celestial Wizard, my sister wanted to find more Gate Keys. She already had quite a few, including a lot of gold Zodiac keys. But as a wizard who used her special brand of magic, it would be a good idea for Lucy to have more keys.  
"What do you say we get something to eat after we get your new key?" I asked Lucy as we walked. The salty smell of the ocean was making my stomach growl.  
"Sure, sounds good" Lucy smiled.   
After about a half an hour of wandering around Hargeon, we decided to ask directions to the magic shop. It was small and run down. Pretty easy to overlook.  
"Ugh, why are these places always covered in dust?" I scoffed as I ran my finger over one of the shelves.   
Since I didn't need to buy anything, I leaned back against the counter next to Lucy while she talked to the shop owner. I could tell right away that this venture wasn't going to be easy. Especially since the shop owner told us that this small store was the only one in all of Harjeon.  
"Man, we came out all this way for nothing" Lucy sighed, turning towards me.  
"Now now, don't say that little lady" The old man stated as he rummaged behind the counter. "I have all the latest goods, let me show you a few." With that, he held up what looked like a pink card with a mirror on it. "This colors magic is pretty popular, all the young girls really seem to like it. It lets you change the color of your clothes anytime you want."   
And then he showed us how it worked. He seemed to enjoy it more than we did. "We already have one of those" I sighed, looking at my nails. Hmm, they could use a trim.  
"What I really want are some powerful Gate Keys," Lucy told him.  
"Gate Keys, huh?" Old Man replied, "That's a rare request." He wasn't wrong, there weren't all that many Celestial Wizards. The only ones I knew of were Lucy and Layla.  
"Wow, the white little doggy!!" Lucy all but squealed.  
"Yes, but that one's not very powerful....."  
"I know, but I really really want it.....So how much?" she asked, holding the case that the silver and blue Gate Key was in.  
"Twenty thousand jewel" was the quick response. What a rip off.  
"I'm sorry but how much was that?" I pouted playfully, leaning over so that my cleavage showed. Now way a lesser constellation would cost that much. And the shopkeep repeated the price. I could see where this was going. Let's just hoped this old man was into chicks.

\---------------------

The pervy shopkeep didn't lower the price all that much. But Lucy was still able to get her new Key, so that was good. Sure, the White Dog was essentially useless, but it was cute. Sometimes a Celestial Spirit acts more like a companion, rather than a warrior. Of course, I only knew this because Layla did try and teach me a few things about her kind of Magic.   
But I was the Water Dragon Slayer through and through.   
"I can't believe that he only gave me a thousand jewel discount" Lucy growled as she stomped down the street with me by her side.   
"So much for using our feminine wiles" I pouted as we walked. "Surely our sex appeal is worth more than a thousand jewel." But Lucy never answered me, instead we were interrupted by a large crowd of screaming girls.   
"Hmm. Wonder what's going on?" my sister asked.   
"Oh my gosh I can't believe the Salamander's really here!!!" a couple of girls squealed as they ran by us. That got our attention.  
The Salamander was famous. He was known to use a type of fire magic that you couldn't buy in stores. Rumor has it, he had a magic similar to mine. I don't know how true those rumors were though, magic like mine was really really rare.  
"I wonder if he's cute?" Lucy wondered out loud. Our curiosity got the better of us as we pushed our way through the crowd of heart-eyed women.   
At the center of the crowd, was an attractive man. The instant his dark gaze settled on me, my heart started pounding in my chest and my palms were sweating. I want to be on my knees in front of this man, I wanted nothing more than his attention and affections.  
What in the hell was wrong with me?  
Looking over at Lucy, I could tell that she was feeling the same way. It wasn't like either of us to fawn over a guy, especially not one as flashy as this god-like specimen in front of us. The only thing that stopped Lucy and me from all but throwing ourselves at the Salamander was the pink-haired guy shoving his way past us.  
What the hell is an Igneel? And why the hell did this guy smell so familiar?  
"Who the heck are you?" the guy asked.  
"Who am I?" the flashy fire wizard asked. "Why, I'm Salamander. Surely you've heard of me before."  
That's when I heard it. The small stutter in the no-longer-attractive man's heartbeat. Is it weird that I didn't find him sexy as hell anymore?   
Suddenly, as quick as he appeared, the pink-haired guy walked away dejectedly. That caused some really aggressive girls to jump on him, staying that he should show more respect to the 'great wizard.'   
"Hey, get offa him!" I snapped, stomping over and pulling the psycho-chicks offa the poor guy, but they just went back and started wailing on the traveler.  
"Now, now, that's enough my lovelies, let him go" 'Salamander' basically ordered the girls. "I'm sure the poor boy didn't mean anything malicious by it." And then it was as if a switch was flipped. All of the girls who had been either glaring or hitting the boy suddenly returned to the lying wizards' side. I couldn't help but glare as he gave the pink-haired traveler an autograph.   
I could tell my sister was glaring at the man as well.   
As the black-haired fire wizard said his goodbyes, I nudged Lucy and we walked over to where the traveler had been thrown by the psycho chicks.   
"Who the heck was that guy?" I heard the boy mutter.  
"I don't know, but he was a real creep" Lucy answered.   
"Thanks for your help, by the way" I added, giving him a small smile. 

  
\------------------

  
Lucy had offered to take the stranger, and his kitty, to lunch as a thank you. We would have been just as brainwashed as those other girls if it weren't for him.   
"My names Lucy and this is my sister Selina" Lu introduced. I just managed a wave as I slurped up some noddles. "Natsu and Happy was it?" she asked I had almost forgotten that they had already told us their names.   
"Wow, you guys sure are hungry" I commented as food was flying everywhere. Though I really had no room to talk, I was almost as bad. There went the money Lucy and I had saved at the magic shop. Oh well.  
"That Salamander guy was using magic," Lucy told Natsu and Happy as they ate.   
"Charm?" I asked her, and she nodded.  
"It's a spell that hypnotizes the ladies into thinking they're in love with him."  
"Creep" I muttered as I popped a piece of shrimp in my mouth. "Charm spells have the power to attract people to you against their own will."  
"But they've been banned for years" my sister continued. "Nobody even sells them anymore. He must have gone through a lot of trouble to get his hands on it."  
"What a creep," I said again. "I can't believe we fell for it."  
"But we snapped out of it thanks to you barging in when you did" Lucy smiled at Natsu, who was still stuffing his face. "I really can't thank you guys enough."  
"No problem," Natsu said, his voice muffled by the whole tomato he had tossed into his mouth.   
"We might not look like it, but Selina and I are wizards too" Lucy smiled. "But we haven't joined a guild yet or anything" she added. "I should probably explain huh?"  
And then Lucy went on and on about wizard guilds. I didn't bother saying anything to her, not even when she started geeking out about the guild we planned on joining. As she spoke, I tried to place Natsy's scent, but I kept on coming up with nothing. All I knew was that his scent was familiar and I had no clue why.  
"You talk a lot" said the little blue kitty. I loved him. I wanted one.  
I also couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement because Happy was right. When my sister got going, it was almost impossible to shut her up. "Didn't you say that you guys were here looking for someone?" I asked.  
"We're looking for Igneel" Happy answered. So apparently Igneel was a 'who' and not a 'what'. Glad to have that covered.  
"I heard a rumor that a salamander was gonna be coming through this town so we came here to see him," Natsu said through a mouthful of cheesy pizza. If I wasn't stuffed I would have gotten myself a piece too. It looked yummy. "But it was somebody else."  
"Yea, that guy didn't look like a salamander at all" Happy spoke up from his spot on the table. I couldn't help but push the rest of my shrimp towards the kitty. He grinned in thanks and started chewing on a large piece.  
"No kidding, I bet that poser can't even breathe fire like a real dragon."  
"Uh, I don't get it, your friend Igneel looks like a dragon?" Lucy asked.  
"No, you've got it all wrong" Nastu swallowed the large bite of food. "He doesn't look like a dragon, he is one."  
My heart nearly stopped. Natsu and Happy were friends with a dragon? I wanted to, but I didn't ask if he knew of Coventina.   
"Aye," Happy agreed. "Igneel is a real live fire dragon."  
"A-Are you serious?" I asked, causing the blue kitty to nod with a piece of shrimp halfway in his mouth. I opened my mouth again, I couldn't help myself, I needed to know.....but then Lucy slapped a hand over my face and stopped me. When we were children, Jude drilled it into us not to talk about my mother. At least not in front of strangers. Dragons were extraordinary mystical creatures that not many people had the honor to meet. And get away alive. From what I've read dragons haven't been seen in a really long time, but I knew they were real. My mother was real. No matter what Jude Heartfilia said.   
"Why would a fire dragon show up in the middle of town?!" My sister shouted. That caused the boys to pause. I don't think they thought about that. "It's totally ridiculous!!"   
"We should get going" I gulped a minute later, Lucy just nodded and slapped some money down on the table as payment for all of the food.   
"Enjoy the rest of your lunch" Lucy smiled. "Maybe we'll see ya around."  
"I hope you find Igneel," I told Natsu, squeezing his shoulder lightly as I walked passed the table. As we made our way to the door, the hostess waved to us and thanked us for our stay. I smiled at the woman, only for her jaw to drop. Curious, Lucy and I turned and saw Happy and Natsu on their hands and knees.   
"Thank you for the food!!"   
"Cut it out you're embarrassing me!!!!" Lucy shouted. My sister didn't like it when attention was called to her, now more than ever. We were technically runaways after all.   
"Guys, it's cool," I told them, causing the pink-haired boy and blue kitty to rise up a little. "You two helped us out earlier with that mega-creep. Let's just call it even, kay?"  
"I feel bad cause we weren't even trying to help them" I heard Natsu mutter to the cat, who responded with an 'Aye'. I couldn't let on that I could hear them, my heightened senses weren't something normal girls had. And I had to pretend to be normal, after all. At least until we found a way to get into the Fairy Tail Guild. "Oh, I know!!! Here" Natsu smiled and handed the autographed 'Salamander' page.   
Yea, thanks, guys.

  
\---------------

  
Lucy and I wandered around Hargeon for about an hour. Finally, after picking up a few magazines, we stopped in a small courtyard and sat by the dry fountain. Too bad there wasn't any water in it, my magic could use a slight pick-me-up.   
"Oh man, it looks like the wizards of Fairy Tail are making waves again" I commented, leaning my head on Lucy's shoulder as we read the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly magazine.   
"They destroyed the Devon bandit family, but destroyed seven homes as well" Lucy laughed as she read. And then she fawned over this weeks centerfold, Mirajane of Fairy Tail. The woman was gorgeous, curvy with long silvery hair. "I wonder if someone like her would be so reckless" Lucy wondered. "I mean, how would we even join Fairy Tail? Do we have to apply? Or maybe we have to learn some strong magic? Selina, you have strong magic, but me....." she sighed.  
"Come on, Lu, your Spirits are way strong," I told my sister, "besides, we probably just need to interview with the Guildmaster and go from there. Who knows?" I added with a shrug. "And who cares, because we're soon going to join that Guild."  
"They are totally the coolest guild ever!!!" Lucy squealed, I smiled at the change in Lucy's mood.   
"What was that?" a smooth, and disgustingly slimy voice spoke from just beyond the bushes. "You two want to join Fairy Tail." Ew, it was that creepy Salamander guy. "I've been looking all over for the two of you," the sleaze-ball said. He was talking to the both of us, but it seems like he preferred my sister, his beady black eyes trailing over her form. "I wanted to personally invite you to the party I'm having on my yacht tonight."  
When the sun shone off of his ring, I glared at the disgusting wizard. He was trying to use the Charm spell on us again. Not gonna happen, buddy. The Heartfilia sisters were more than just pretty faces.  
"Your charm spell won't work on us" Lucy warned, a glare of her own set on Salamander.   
"That magics' weakness is awareness" I added. "My sister and I already know that you used it on us and all of those other women. It won't work."   
"Just as I thought" the slimeball mused. "I knew that the two of you were wizards the moment I laid eyes on you. No matter, the invitation still stands."  
"Well you can forget it" Lucy and I turned our back on him. "Selina and I wouldn't be caught dead at a party being thrown by a creep like you."  
"A creep why would you call me that?" I heard Salamander whimper from behind us. He almost sounded genuinely hurt by Lucy's words.  
"Your spell? You trick innocent girls into fawning over you" I told him. "It's sick and wrong and illegal."   
"Don't be mad my dear, it's all in good fun" the creep waved me off. "I just wanted to feel like a celebrity at my own party, can you blame me?"  
"Just proves that even famous wizards can be big idiots" Lucy shrugged.  
"You two wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild right?"   
Crap. If this creep was a member of Fairy Tail, there was going to be some issues. As in, I wasn't going anywhere near the place, but I knew my sister would do whatever it took to get in. We ran away from home for this.  
"If you want to join," he told us " I can put in a good word with our master"  
"So I guess we'll see ya there" I sighed while my sister all but cozied up to the supposedly famous wizard.   
"Yea it sounds like it'll be a really nice party!" Lucy smiled flirtatiously. "So you can really get us into Fairy Tail?" she asked a moment later.  
"But of course" Salamander nodded. "But in return, don't say anything about the Charm Spell."  
I kept my mouth shut. I had a feeling this man couldn't be trusted, I knew for a fact that he had been lying earlier. What proof did I have though? The wizard known as Salamander had never been photographed or anything. And it's not like I could just shout 'Hey I know that you're lying because my Slayer magic lets me hear your heartbeat.' Cuz that would go over well.   
It was when he used his purple flames to fly away that Lucy and I realized what had happened. "I was pseudo-charmed" she grumbled, before looking at me with happiness in her eyes. "But it's whatever because now we can get into Fairy Tail!"   
"We just gotta be nice to that idiot until then!" I chuckled, slinging my arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Peice of cake!"

  
\------------

  
Later that night, after Lucy and I spent a little more money at a thrift store for some party dresses, we made our way down to the yacht. I wish I could say that I was surprised that there were so many women here, but I really wasn't. This skeez-ball had been literally charming the pants off of every girl in town. Thankfully, neither Lucy or I were going to fall for that crap again.   
"Lucy, Selina, those are both beautiful names," he said, pouring champagne into two glasses for the both of us.   
"Thanks," we said in unison. Hopefully, the booze would distract me from the motion sickness I felt bubbling in my stomach. I was just glad that it wasn't completely incapacitating.   
"Let's start with a toast." As he spoke. I kept my guard up, trying not to puke at the same time. I didn't trust this wizard in the least bit. With a snap of his fingers, the Fairy Tail wizard used a spell to lift the champagne from the glasses. "Now, open your mouth and savor the jewels of fruit juice as they enter."  
It was a spell. It had to of been a spell. Instantly, I grabbed Lucy's hand. We had to be strong and resist the charm. Letting go of my hand, Lucy stood and slapped the blobs of champagne out of the air.   
"What's the big idea?" she asked, her dark eyes mirroring my blue glare.   
"That was Sleep magic, wasn't it?" I sneered, rising to stand beside my sister with my arms folded over my chest.   
"I'm impressed" the creepazoid mused, showing us his sleep spell ring.   
"You just don't quit do ya?" I scoffed  
"Don't get the wrong idea!" Lucy went on. "Selina and I want to join Fairy Tail, but neither of us have any intention of being your girl!"  
"Oooh" chuckled the man. "You're both very tough indeed."  
I wasn't expecting what happened next. The curtains that made the walls to the room we were in suddenly opened to reveal even creepier looking men. Each of them were holding an unconscious girl in the arms, or over their shoulders.   
"What's going on here?!" Lucy gasped.  
"You drugged all those girls like you were trying to drug us, didn't you!" I accused.  
"Welcome to my ship" the man smirked. "You two will behave yourselves until we reach Bosco..... girls."   
"Bosco?!" we gasped. My motion sickness all but replaced with a trickle of fear.   
This was not good. Bosco was known for is less-than-legal dealings. For instance, sex trafficking. "Hold on! What about Fairy Tail?!" asked Lucy.   
"Forget about it. You two are our merchandise now."  
"You're not really even a Fairy Tail wizard, are you" I scoffed. Around us, the burly men cheered for their master. Instantly, Lucy pulled out her Gatekeys. Just as she did, I called forth a magic circle, only it fizzled out as soon as I did. I hadn't 'eaten' any water all day. "Shit" I cursed under my breath as our kidnapper opened a magic circle of his own. If I had the power, I could take out his fire magic easily. But I was essentially useless as he used his fire magic to snake the keys from my sisters hand.   
"Gatekeys.....a Celestial Wizard, huh?" he smirked, knowing that Lucy wouldn't be able to call forth her spirits without her keys. "Only contract holders can use this magic," he said. "Meaning they're useless to me." And with that, he tossed the keys overboard. Oh, Aquarius is sooo not gonna like that. She was always too hard on Lucy. "And you seem pretty useless too, at least you're pretty" he added when he saw that I was yet again trying and failing to draw a magic circle. The next thing I knew, Lucy and I were being restrained.   
Who the hell is this guy?  
"You're the worst kind of wizard there is!" Lucy shouted with tears running down her face. She had every right to be upset, of course. Not only were we basically defenseless, but those keys were given to her by her mother. They meant a great deal to her. But before either of us could even think of doing anything, something came crashing through the roof of the yacht.  
"Natsu!" Lucy and I said at the same time, my adoptive sisters' tears drying the second we saw our new friend.  
It seems, however, that the pink haired boy had a touch of motion sickness. Gross. "What are you guys doing, Lucy?" I heard a voice, looking up, I saw Happy but he was.....he was flying. That was different.  
"We were tricked Happy," I told the blue kitty.  
"Yea" Lucy agreed. "He said he would get us into Fairy Tail!"  
"Wait a sec!" I said, wrenching my arms free of the dumb-founded criminals. "You have wings!"  
"We can talk later!" the blue kitty told us, before using his tail to grip Lucy from around the waist. With a squeak, I grabbed onto my sister's foot as we lifted into the air. For a little kitty Happy sure was strong, but I could tell that he was struggling. So the second I saw nothing but water below us, I let go of Lucy and dropped in the ocean.   
I could hear Lucy call my name, but the sound of her voice was instantly drowned out by my crash. With my eyes closed, I sank into the dark waters for a few minutes. Just enjoying the feel of the ocean moving all around me, coating my skin in its salty-moisture. Then I opened my mouth wide, before chomping down with my fang-like teeth. Bite after bite, I swallowed down the water, savoring its taste as I felt my magic building itself back up. Slowly, I moved as if I could dive before calling my magic. Slamming my fists together, a magic circle sprag forward before I moved my fists to my mouth. _**"'Water Dragon: ROAR!'"**_ I called out, my voice sounding chopped as it cut through the water. Suddenly, a turret of water shot forward and I used the pressure to shoot myself to the surface of the water.  
It was faster than swimming.   
"LUCY!!!" I cried out when I saw purple flames shooting towards Happy and my sister. Only to let out a sigh of relief when Happy was able to dodge and the vicious purple flames collided with each other. "Shoot!" I said when I saw Happy's wings disappear with a little 'poof' and the two of them dropped not too far away from me. I moved quicker underwater, so I instantly dove back under the waves and all but propelled myself towards my sister. Thankfully, Lucy was able to right herself and floated for a moment. Seeing that my sister was safe, I swam towards Happy before he could crash into a large stone.   
Since she couldn't talk, Lucy motioned towards where she normally kept her Gatekeys. Furrowing my brow, I pointed to where I had seen a small shine. I had been moving to fast to get a good look, but I'm pretty sure I had seen her keys not too far away from where I had landed. With a determined nod, Lucy took off towards her keys while I launched towards the surface with Happy. While I didn't have a hard time staying underwater for long periods of time, the tiny blue cat obviously needed air ASAP.   
Once we all broke the surface of the water, Lucy instantly brought out her go-to gate key. Aquarius. "Here goes," she said with determination. **_"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"_** called out my sister. As she plunged the head of the key down into the water, a magic circle appeared.   
From what I understood, Aquarius's key has been in the Heartfilia family for generations. But for some reason, the water spirit wasn't Lucy's biggest fan. She like me though, no clue why. Probably because I liked the taste of the water she usually called forth. I don't know, she's weird.   
I knew that Aquarius would more than likely throw a fit over her keys being tossed into the ocean, so I swam just a little bit away from my sister. Just in case. "A fish!" Happy said the second he saw Aquarius as he hungrily tried to leap for the spirit.   
"No!" I told him, gripping his little body tighter than before.   
"That was amazing" he finally commented.   
"Lucy's a Celestial Wizard," I told him proudly. "She can use those Gatekeys to summon celestial spirits from another world!" Before I could say more, however, I saw that familiar glint in the Water Bearers' eyes. So with a quick 'sorry' I dropped the flying cat and swam as fast as I could towards the shore, using small bursts of magic to help me swim fast. Knowing Aquarius, she was about to blow the yacht back to port. And take out the harbor while she was at it.   
Thankfully we weren't too far out, so I was able to make it to the shore before the wave. Once on solid ground, I braced my self. Only for my eyes to widen when I saw the size of the wave. Crap. With my feet in the water, I waited patiently for my dinner to get closer. I couldn't take it all in, though, and I knew that. But I took in what I could, my tongue tingling at the familiar taste of spirit water.   
Once I had my fill, I let out a small breath and held back a not-so-small burp. Pushing my now stringy black hair away from my face, I looked around for Lucy and Happy. I knew that Aquarius wouldn't spare them in her wrathful wave.   
"What were you thinking!?" I heard Lucy call out. Turning around, I saw that they were just around the bend. "Why did you sweep me with it!?" she asked.  
"Whoops. I accidentally swept the ship up, too" was the water spirits response.   
"You were aiming for me?!"  
"Don't call me for a while" Aquarius told the blonde. "I'm going on a week-long trip with my boyfriend. But do say hello to that sister of yours" she added before disappearing.   
"I still don't get why she likes me more than you" I drawled as I walked over to where Lucy and Happy were. "Did she leave me a snack for later?" I asked, only to receive a glare from my sister.   
Looking over to where the yacht had crashed, I saw a small crowd of Harjeon residents start to investigate. After sharing a glance with Lucy, the two of us ran over to the crash looking for Natsu. We didn't know him that well, but still he was a friend. That's all we needed.   
"You're a Fairy Tail wizard?" I heard Natsu speak to the man who had tried kidnapping me and my sister.   
"Yeah, so what?!" said the dark haired creep. "Get'im men!"  
"Let me get a closer look at you," Natsu said, throwing off his jacket.  
When Lucy cried out for the pink-haired boy, Happy simply waved her off. "It's okay!" the kitty told us, munching on a fish that had washed up on shore with him. "We should've mentioned it earlier, but Natsu's a wizard too!"   
"I am Natsu of Fairy Tail!" he growled. "I've never seen you before in my life!"  
H-He's a Fairy Tail wizard?! I hadn't seen him without his jacket before now. But now that I got a good look at him, I saw the Fairy Tail emblem emblazoned on his shoulder. The same emblem I had seen on MiraJane Strauss and Cana Alberona and so many other Fairy Tail wizards that had been featured in Sorcerer Magazine.   
"Th-That emblem" one of the thugs stammered to his boss. "He's the real deal, Bora."  
"You fool! Don't call me by that name!!"  
"Bora..." Happy said thoughtfully. "Bora the Prominence. He was kicked out of the Titans Nose wizard guild years ago."  
"I don't care if you're a good guy or a bad guy....." Natsu said, his voice deathly calm as he walked down the slope of the yacht. "But I won't let you tarnish Fairy Tail's name!"  
"And what are you gonna do about it, kid?!" Bora scoffed before igniting a magic circle. **_"Prominence Typhoon!_** "  
"Natsu!" Lucy called out as our friend was hit with purple flames, but Happy stopped us.   
What I saw next caused my mouth to drop in shock. Natsu was eating the flames. Just like I ate water. "This tastes horrible," he said, shoveling the fire into his mouth. "Are you really a fire wizard? This is the worst fire I've ever tasted." Everyone was shocked. Sure Lucy had seen me do the same with water, but that was me. As far as we knew, I was the only one who ate elements. "Thanks for the meal" Natsu smirked.   
"Fire won't work on Natsu," Happy told us.   
"I've only ever seen magic like that once......" Lucy trailed off, her eyes not leaving Natsu.   
"His magic is like mine" I whispered low enough that Lucy couldn't hear me.   
I watched in awe as Natsu ignited his magic circle. It looked so much like my own. Only instead of a sparkling blue, Natsu's was a fiery red. And then he Roared, sending a torrent of fire at his rivals. Leaving the already destroyed yacht in ruins. The would-be kidnappers left strewn among the rubble. Except for Bora, of course, he had used his purple flames to lift himself into the air.   
"B-Bora!" one of the men stammered. "I've seen this guy before! That pink hair and the scaly-looking scarf! No doubt about it! He's the real..."  
"Natsu's the real Salamander!" I gasped with the realization.   
"Pay attention, now!" Natsu called out, flames forming on either fist. "This is what Fairy Tail wizards are like!"  
The battle between Natsu and Bora was incredible. Something inside of me itched to join in the fight, but I've never actually been in combat. Unless sparring with Aquarius counted. Jude didn't like Lucy or me using magic.   
"He eats fire and punches with fire!" Lucy commented. "Is this really magic!"   
"Dragon lungs for breathing fire, dragon scales for dissolving fire and dragon talons that are wrapped with fire..." Happy said proudly. "It's an ancient spell that lets his body take on the qualities of a dragon."  
"Are you serious?" Lucy asked, she may have known that I used similar magic, but she didn't know all of the details.   
"It was originally used for taking down dragons" I nodded, causing both Happy and Lucy to look at me with wide eyes. Though I kept my gaze on Natsu and Bora. "It's called Dragon Slayer magic." Natsu may have had the fight against Bora covered. But there were still creepy weirdo's surrounding us. Not all of them had been taken out by Natsu's Roar and they were closing in on Lucy, Happy and me. Instantly, I pushed my sister and the cat behind me before slamming my fists together, bringing forth my circle. **_"'Water Dragon: Roar!'"_** I called once again, sending a spiral of water at the men. The force knocking them into the rubble.   
A moment later, Bora was being sent into the Harjeon bell. "That was amazing!" Lucy breathed, and honestly, I was unsure on whether she was talking about me or Natsu. I didn't have time to figure it out because the next the I knew we were being surrounded by the army.   
"Crap! Let's get outta here!" Natsu yelled, grabbing onto both me and Lucy, pulling us behind him as he ran.  
"Why do we have to?!" Lucy yelled.  
"You guys wanna join Fairy Tail, don't you?" Natsu asked. 


	2. Dragons, Monkey, and Bull

**2\. Dragon, Monkey, and Bull**

  
Ever since my adoptive mother Layla Heartfilia passed away, my sister Lucy and I shared a dream. To leave our home and join a wizard guild. And after a chance meeting in Harjeon, that dream was finally being realized. We had been conned at first, a creepy guy named Bora was trying to kidnap Lucy and me under the guise of joining the greatest guild of all, Fairy Tail. But we learned the truth not too long after getting on his yacht. And the boy we had met earlier in the day, Natsu, came to our rescue once again. And as it turns out, Natsu was not only a Fairy Tail wizard...but a Dragon Slayer as well.  
Just like me.   
After grabbing our things from the hotel, we made the journey to Magnolia. Home of the FairyTail guildhall. Lucy had wanted to take the train, but at the mere mention of it, Natsu's motion sickness had taken over. It would only take us about a day to walk to our destination, including breaks. So that's what we did.   
"I heard you, back at that ship," Natsu told me later that night when we finally stopped to camp out. Lucy and Happy had both fallen asleep. Natsu and I were the only ones still up. "You're a dragon slayer too, aren't you?" he asked, and I just nodded. "Do you know what happened to Igneel?"  
"I don't know him" I shrugged. "I only knew my mother, Coventina. She taught me Dragon Slayer magic. But then she disappeared...."  
"Seven years ago, right?"  
"Yeah. How-?" I started but Natsu quickly cut me off.   
"Igneel disappeared on the 7th day of the 7th month in the year x777," he told me.   
I thought quietly for a moment. When was the last time I had seen my mother? Seven years ago, a few months before Layla died. But I couldn't remember the exact date... What were the chances that Coventina disappeared on the same day as Igneel?  
"And you're looking for him right?" I asked softly as I hugged my knees to my chest, remembering why the boy had come to Harjeon in the first place. "Do you think you'll find him?"  
Confidently, Natsu nodded. "I know it."  
We talked in low voices for a little while longer. Mostly it was Natsu telling me all he knew about the dragon who raised him. As he spoke, I remembered Coventina. Her sleek body was ideal dor cutting through the seas and her scaly wings were strong and powerful. She didn't have arms or legs, but my mother had no need for them. I remembered, then, the security I felt when her body coiled around me like a snake. How protected I was when she would hold me.   
I hoped that Natsu was right and that he would find Igneel someday. And maybe.... maybe we could find Coventina too.

  
**\---------------------------------**

  
Morning came soon enough and before we knew it, we were on our way to Fairy Tail. Thankfully the rest of the walk was uneventful and we were making good time. It didn't take long at all to reach the town of Magnolia. And the Fairy Tail guildhall.   
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy smiled as we stood in front of the large wooden doors.   
"Wow!" Lucy gasped. I had no clue what to say, so I just nodded in agreement. It was amazing!  
Dropping his bag to the ground, Natsu kicked in the door. "We made it back alive!" he shouted.   
Grabbing my sister's hand, the two of his followed after him. There were so many different people inside, enjoying drinks and food and each other company. Not too far away, sitting at a table with a mug of beer was a man who had made a comment about Harjeon. Instantly, Natsu kicked the man over.   
"You lied to me about the Salamander!" the pink-haired dragon slayer shouted.  
"Don't blame me!" defended the other man. "I only told you some rumors I happened to hear!"  
It didn't take much for a fight to break out after that. At first, it was just Natsu, but soon enough the everyone in the guildhall was fighting each other.   
"Wow, Selina" Lucy smiled, squeezing my hand. "We're finally here! Fairy Tail!"   
"I know, isn't it amazing!" I laughed, bumping her shoulder with my own only for the two of us to blush when a half-naked guy popped up in front of us. "Aww jeez," I instantly snapped my eyes shut while Lucy backed away from the dark-haired wizard.  
"It's time to settle things from the other day, Nastu!" he shouted into the fray of the fight.   
"Gray. You're clothes" commented a girl from nearby. Looking over my shoulder, I recognized the woman as Cana Alberona. And according to Sorcerer magazine, she was Fairy Tails heaviest drinker. "This is why I can't stand the men here" she sighed and I was unsure if she was talking to us or herself. "They have no class at all." With wide eyes, I watched as she replaced her glass of wine with an entire barrel. Wow. I guess Sorcerer magazine was right.  
Slowly, more and more wizards started to enter the fray. It was actually pretty entertaining. While Lucy watched in shock, I leaned against the bar beside Cana. There were so many people I recognized from my almost obsessive reading of that magazine. But there were even more that I didn't recognize. Like Natsu and the guy he had started the fight with, I'm sure there were even more members of Fairy Tail that weren't even here in the guildhall.   
There was even a tall, tan-skinned, white-haired man who I had thought was going to break up the fight. But he squashed that thought when he all but shouted: "Real men speak with their fists!"  
"He's encouraging fighting after all...." Lucy sighed just as Natsu and the half-naked guy, Gray, sent him flying.   
"Well that was quick" I chuckled.  
"Ugh. How noisy" a male voice mused. Looking passed Cana, I saw a guy with short orange hair and two girls snuggled up under either arm. Loke. He was ranked pretty high on Sorcerer Weekly's 'most-desired-wizard-bachelor' list. I didn't see the attraction, to be honest. But still, there was something about him.   
"He's off my list for sure" Lucy muttered as she made a large X over Loke's picture in the magazine she had with her. "But what's with this place?" she asked, turning to face me. "There isn't one normal person here!"  
"Oh, are you two new here?" A soft voice spoke from behind us. Turning around, my jaw dropped. Mirajane freaking Strauss!!! She was practically the face of Fairy Tail in Sorcerer Weekly. She usually just ran the bar and stuff, but I head that she was actually a really strong wizard. I don't know how true it was though. No one has seen her use magic in a really long time.   
"Sh-Shouldn't we stop them?" Lucy asked, pointing over to where the guys were all fighting.   
But Mirajane simply giggled and waved them off. "They're always like this," she said good-naturedly. "We should just let them be. Besides-" but the white-haired woman was speared to the floor. "It's fun, don't you think?" she asked with a bright smile before she passed out.  
Looking around the room, I couldn't help but smile. Everyone was yelling and throwing fists. But underneath that, they were smiling, they were laughing. Seeing that was all it took for me. Yea, I decided. It did look like fun. Fairy Tail was everything I had thought it would be. I knew that the wizard guild was the more rambunctious of all of them. From what I read, they were always getting into trouble.   
After what had happened in Harjeon, I couldn't help but believe that was true.   
With a wide smile, I stood beside Lucy once more. I had gone to say something to her but was instantly knocked to the ground by Gray. Who was completely naked! Letting out a small squeak, I snapped my eyes shut.   
"My boxers!" he shouted, getting up off of me. "Miss. Could you lend me some underwear--?" he asked my sister, causing her to screech and back away from the naked man before kicking him away from her. When Loke lifted Lucy up into his arms, I jumped to my feet.   
"Hey, man, let go of my sister!" I told him. Just as I was about to kick him in the shin, the white-haired man came up and gave Loke an uppercut. Instantly sending him flying before Natsu came and kicked the larger man away.   
Shaking my head, I dusted off my skirt before going back over to the bar. "Ugh, how annoying" Cana mumbled, she had traded in her wine for a frosty mug of beer. "I can't even have a nice, relaxing drink," she said. Turning around, the dark-haired wizard pulled out what looked like a Tarot card. I had read about Cana in Wizard Weekly, she used holder magic like Lucy. Only instead of gate keys and celestial spirits, Cana used Card magic. "You guys had better knock it off!" A glowing magic circle forming in front of her card.   
"Now I'm mad!" I heard Gray growl. Looking over at him, I saw that he had finally put his boxers on and his hands glowed his a magic circle.   
I was honestly was expecting the wizards to start shooting off spells way before now. But before anyone could call forth any magic, a large, dark figure loomed over the guildhall.  
"That's enough you fools!" the monstrous figure roared. That was all it took for the others to stop what they were doing, instantly freezing in place. The guildhall was silent.   
"Oh, you're still here, Master?" Mirajanes happy voice spoke up.   
Wait that was the master of the guild?   
"What a bunch of wimps!" Natsu laughed loudly as he stood in the center of the hall. "Looks like I win this---" he started, but was instantly squashed under the foot of the monstrous master. At Lucy's squeal of fear, the monster looked to where we stood beside Mirajane.   
"Well it seems we have some new recruits." his booming voice sounded.   
"Y-Yes, sir" Lucy and I nodded.   
We watched in dumbfounded shock as the dark figure started to shrink before our eyes. He didn't stop until he was finally in what I assumed to be his 'normal-form', a short old-man with an orange and blue hat on his head. "Nice to meetcha!" he said with a smile.   
"Wait, he's your master....?!" Lucy exclaimed.  
"Yep!" Mirajane smiled. "This is Mr. Makarov, Fairy Tail's master!"Without another word, Master Makarov turned from us and jumped up onto the banister of the second level. Missing only slightly and slamming his back on the wood before righting himself.   
"You guys have gone and done it again!" he addressed the guild, holding up a stack of papers. "Just look at how much paperwork the council sent me this time!" he scolded. "And it's all complaints!" Makarov paused for a second, letting out a breath of aggravation. "All you guys ever do is get the council mad at me!"   
All of the Fairy Tail wizards looked down in shame. I kinda felt bad for them, biting my lip and looking down in shame as well. I don't know why, it wasn't like I did anything wrong. "However...." Makarov continued, the papers in his hand igniting into flames. "To hell with the council!" he cheered before tossing the flaming papers out over the crowd for Natsu to eat. "Listen up!" he shouted. "Power that surpasses reason is still born from reason. Magic is not a miraculous power. It is only realized when the flow of energy inside and the flow of energy in the natural world come into perfect sync! Magic comes from mental strength and focus--nay, it comes from your entire soul!" he told the room. "Worry about the eyes watching from high above and you will make no progress in the ways of magic! Don't let the fool on the council scare you! Follow the path you believe in! That's what Fairy Tail wizards do!"   
The entire guild erupted with cheers at Master Makarovs words. He really was inspirational. Laughing, I looped my arms with Lucy and leaned on her shoulder a little. This place was amazing.  
As things started to calm down and the guild members chatted amongst themselves, Mirajane disappeared. Only to come back a moment later with a large brown stamp that had the Fairy Tail emblem on it.   
"You two wanted to join the guild right?" she asked. With a shared look, Lucy and I grew large smiles and nodded vigorously. "Well alright" the silver-haired beauty giggled, fiddling with the stamp. "Where would you like me to put your emblems, and what color?" she asked.  
We both took a minute before Lucy took her right hand and placed it over her heart. Layla had been the one to tell us about the guilds, as she lay bedridden due to her illness, she had told us all about the most powerful guild in all of Fiore. Even before joining the guild became a reality, Fairy Tail held a large place in our hearts. So, Lucy had Mirajane stamp the back of her right hand in a pretty pink color, Layla's favorite. I watched the process almost nervously, barely wondering if it hurt. As Mirajane pressed the stamper on my sisters' skin, my fingers tapped against the exposed skin of my thigh.   
When my turn finally came, I bit my lip and hopped up on a nearby stool, so that Mirajane didn't need to bend or squat. "How about right here?" I asked, pointing to the spot on my upper thigh. "And.....is it possible to do a light blue, with a darker blue outlining it?" I asked.   
"Oh of course!" Mirajane said happily as she fiddled with the stamper. "Like this?" she asked, showing me the colors. With smile, I hiked my skirt up just a bit to give Mirajane a little bit more room. A second later, I was officially a member of the Fairy Tail guild.   
"Thank you so much, Mirajane" I said, hopping down from the stool. Just as I did, Lucy grabbed my hand and pulled me over to where Natsu was standing.  
"Natsu, he look!" she said excitedly, holding out her hand for Natsu to see. "Mirajane just put the official Fairy Tail mark on my hand!" she told him.   
"Oh yea, that's cool" Natsu muttered as he looked over the request board. "Welcome to the guild Loony" he said.  
Instantly, I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Though Lucy still glared at me before shouting "The names Lucy!" at our new friend before stomping back towards the bar. With a chuckle, I joined her. Sitting back on the stool, I kept my back to the bar, as I looked over the guildhall. Many of the guild members had cleared out after the brawl, while others stayed for a drink.   
Quietly, I watched as a little boy entered and walked over to Master Makarov. "How come my dad hasn't come back yet?" the little boy asked sadly.   
"You're starting to work my nerves, Romeo," said the old man. Though I could hear the small shiver of worry in his voice thanks to my heightened senses. "You're a wizards son, have faith in your father and wait patiently for him."  
"But sir," started the boy, Romeo, "He told me he would be back in three days. And he's been gone for over a week now!"   
"If I remember correctly, he took the job on Mt Hakobe" the Guild Master told him.   
"That's right!" Romeo exclaimed. "And it's not that far from here so why won't somebody go look for him!?"  
"Listen kid, your old mans a wizard!" Makarov said loudly. "And like every other wizard in this guild he can take care of himself. Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!"  
Then the little boy did something I wasn't expecting. He decked the Guild Master, sending the old man flying from his perch on the bar. "Jerk!" the boy shouted before turning to run out of the guildhall. "I hate you all!!"   
As he left, we were all silent. I understood where the boy was coming from. He just wanted his parent back, and he was so young that he didn't know how to express his sadness and frustration with the only people who cared. I had been there, almost seven years ago when my mother vanished. I remember crying, a lot. I remember pushing Lucy, and even Layla, away to wallow in my adolescent depression. I just hope that Romeo doesn't take as long as I did to realize that he wasn't alone.   
"That's gotta be rough," Lucy said solemnly, giving my hand a small squeeze. She remembered when I had been the same way, when no one believed me about my mother.   
"I know it sounds like the Master doesn't care" Mirajane spoke up from the other end of the bar. But he really is worried."   
She didn't need to tell me that. I didn't know anyone here except for my sister, but I could literally hear every single heart in this guildhall break for that little boy. And hearts weren't the only thing being broken as the sound of someone hitting the request board reverberated throughout the guildhall. The loud noise causing me to jump out of my seat in shock as it all but attacked my sensitive hearing. Looking over, I saw Natsu stalk out of the hall with his bag in hand and Happy at his side.   
"This doesn't look good, Master," said the wizard who had been staring at the request board a few moments ago. "You know how he can be. I bet he's going up to Mt Hakobe to save Macao."  
"When is that kid ever going to grow up?" asked the buck-toothed wizard Natsu had attacked when we first arrived at the Fairy Tail guild hall.   
"Who knows," the first man responded. "Going after Macao isn't going to do anything except hurt his pride."  
"Remember, Nab," Master Makarov spoke calmly. "We can't choose another path, just leave him be."  
"Why did Natsu get so upset?" my sisters asked, her chocolate brown eyes saddened by our friends' disappearance.   
"Probably because he and Romeo have a lot in common" Mirajane answered, though she kept her back to us. "I think he sees himself in a way. Just because we're members of Fairy Tail, it doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss."  
This fact was true for Lucy and me as well. I lost my mother seven years ago. From what I could remember, Coventina was all I had. And then she was just....gone. I don't even know how long I had wandered around Fiore after that. Just that I had found my self far away from the northern continent where I lived with my dragon mother. Layla had found me a few weeks later, and when I told her that I couldn't remember my name, she had given me one. Naming me after the long lost little sister of one of her ancestors. Selina.   
Though I had been accepted into their home, I had still kept Layla and Lucy at arms length. Until Layla had gotten sick, magic deficiency. I have clear memories from that time. Of Lucy, Layla and I cuddling in bed together while Layla read us 'Key of the Starry Heavens'. I wasn't fond of the book, but Lucy was and she was my sister.   
When Layla finally passed, all Lucy had was me. And all I had was her.   
"Many years ago Natsu's father left and never came back" Mirajane told us. "Well...technically it wasn't his real father" said the silver-haired woman. "But he was the one who raised him. He was actually a dragon."  
I had been told the night before about Natsu's father, Igneel. I knew, first hand, what Natsu was going through.   
"He was a what!?!?" Lucy said loudly. "Natsu was really raised by a dragon?" she asked. "Just like...." she trailed off, before her eyes drifted to me. I simply shook my head, now was not the time.   
"When he was a little boy, a dragon found him wandering the forest. He took him in and taught him all about language, culture and magic" Mirajane paused for a moment, and her words sunk in. Sure Natsu and I had talked briefly about our dragons, but I didn't realize just how similar we were. "But one day, the dragon disappeared and never returned."  
"So...that dragon must have been Igneel" Lucy realized. I had forgotten that Lucy had been asleep while Natsu and I talked.   
"That's right" Mirajane nodded. "Natsu lives for the day when he will finally see Igneel again. Its kinda cute, dontcha think?" the model giggled sweetly.   
It took us less than a minute to decide to go after Natsu. Normally, I would have stayed behind and consoled little Romeo, but Lucy had never been to a place like Mt. Hakobe before and my protective instincts told me that I would be better off going with her and Natsu. 

\---------------------------------------------------

  
I wasn't fond of traveling by carriage, or magic mobile, or anything like that. Though my motion sickness wasn't as bad as Natsu's, it was still bad enough that if I didn't get out of this carriage soon then I was going to hurl.   
"Ugh" Natsu groaned, trying to keep the contents of his stomach down. "Why'd you two come with us?" he asked.   
I just groaned in response while Lucy answered. "We thought we could help" she said. "Wow, you really do get as motion sick as Selina" Lucy told him. Cracking one eye open, I saw that Natsu was still sprawled out over the opposing bench. Completely incapacitated. "Just another reason I feel sorry for you," my sister said almost offhandedly.   
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu and I asked at the same time, paired with dual groans.   
And then suddenly, the cart stopped moving. Instantly, Natsu and I stood and rushed to our feet. "Alright, we've stopped moving!!" Natsu shouted, a stream of fire shooting from his mouth.   
"Oh sweet stillness!" I chuckled, reaching my arms over my head to give them a little stretch.   
"I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can get you" our driver told us. Lucy looked at him in shock before we all piled out into the snow.   
Seeing the fluffy white powder, I let out a small squeal of happiness. I loved the snow, unlike other dragon slayer elements, I could consume water in any of its forms and replenish my magic energy.   
Jumping out of the carriage and into the snowstorm, I spun in a small circle before stopping to tilt my head up to the sky. Sticking my tongue out, I pulled in as many snowflakes as I could. Relishing in the icy coldness of the melted snow as it touched my tongue.   
"Ahh now that's the stuff" I smiled, turning back to face my sister and Natsu, who were still inside the carriage.   
"Where the heck are we Natsu?" Lucy asked over the whipping wind. "It's a frozen wasteland!!"  
"I'm assuming this is Mt. Hakobe, dear sister" I told her. 

  
\-------------------------

  
I hadn't been walking for very long. But I could tell that my sister was absolutely frigid as she tromped through the snow beside me. I could even hear her teeth chattering over the whipping wind. Even my heightened vision was blinded by the white-out conditions of the blizzard. Numerous times I had tried to reach out to take my sisters hand, but she was just out of reach every time. I knew she was close by, though, so I wasn't too worried.   
"Why is it so cold?" Lucy whimpered. "I know we're on a mountain, but it's summer right now! There shouldn't be a blizzard like this anywhere!"   
"That's what you get for wearing light clothing" was Natsu's response, causing me to roll my eyes. He was showing just as much skin as me and Lucy. The difference was, Natsu was a Fire Dragon Slayer, so he could stay warm no matter what. Thanks to my own magic, I could too. Poor Lucy, on the other hand....  
As Lucy tried to pull the blanket off of Natu's pack, I caught a faint scent on the wind. But before I could try to figure out what it was, it was gone. Not even a minute later, Lucy was pulling a silver key from the small holder on her belt. **_"Open Gate of the Clock Constellation: Horologium!_** " Over the whipping wind I could hear the faint 'ding dong' of the spirits gate being opened. Well that was one way to beat the cold I guess.   
The only downside, I suppose, was that we couldn't hear a word my sister said. Though the clock, Horologium, could hear her and narrated her words for us.   
"Then why'd you come along?" Natsu asked.  
"'What kind of crazy job would force Macao to come to a place like this?' she inquires" translated the large clock spirit.   
"You should have asked that before you and Selina came with us" Natsu told her before continuing. "He came to slay a Vulcan, it's a big monster" he explained. At that Natsu, Happy and I continued walking, while Lucy and the clock stayed put.   
We all continued to walk, Natsu, Happy, and I using our noses to the best of our abilities. But there wasn't any scent to follow. The whipping snow had all but washed any trace of the elder Fairy Tail member away. Suddenly, the crunch of footsteps approached before a large black and white creature attacked us. I couldn't help the groan of pain as my head hit a cold rock hidden beneath the snow.   
"So I take it that's a Vulcan?" I asked Natsu as my vision swam and my head pounded.   
"Yea a big one!" Happy responded.   
The creature groaned and produced a wicked grin before his arm snapped forward and he grabbed me tightly. Before I could react, the Vulcan raced off towards where Lucy and Horologium were. The clock, obviously, was not a fighter, so there wasn't much he could do to protect my sister from the monster.   
"Me like human womans" said the Vulcan as he Horologium and I under each arm and ran away without paying Natsu any mind.   
Over the pounding in my head and the roaring wind, I could hear Horologium call out to Natsu for Lucy. Telling him to hurry up and save us. I couldn't help but agree. Right now my head was pounding and my stomach was turning worse than my motion sickness ever got. Plus my arms were trapped in the vice-like grip of the Vulcan so there was no way I'd be able to summon my magic right now.   
I don't know how long the Vulcan had run for, but when he finally stopped it was inside of a barren cave at the summit of the mountain. Where he dropped Horologium and I on the cold, icy, ground just to stare lustfully at Lucy and me.   
Gross. Actually it reminded me of a Zodiac key Lucy had recently made a contract with.   
Suddenly, the only thing protecting Lucy, and keeping me upright, disappeared as Horologium went back to the spirit world. With a groan, I slumped against Lucy, while the Vulcan came closer, hoping to get his grubby monster hands on us.   
"Where'd you go Horologium, don't you disappear on me!" Lucy screamed.   
"I'm sorry but my time is up" came Horologium's voice as his magic faded back into the spirit world.   
After screaming for an extension, she looked at me. "Selina, can you do anything?" she asked with tears in her eyes, her loud voice causing me to wince.   
"Sorry Lu, but I'm pretty sure I have a pretty bad concussion," I told her, rubbing my palms against my eyes. "Give me a few minutes and I should be good to go."  
"I don't think we have a few minutes" whimpered my sister.  
She was right of course. There was no way this creature was going to wait for me to be able to fight back. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait as a moment later, I could hear footsteps. Followed by Natsu asking where Macao was.   
Only to stumble and slide across the ice. Way to go, dude. Thanks. You rock. Thankfully, the Vulcan was distracted by Natsu long enough for Lucy and me to run over to our fire breathing friend without worrying about our safety.   
"Spill it, monkey, where is my friend?" Natsu asked as he stood up. "You understand me right? He's a human man, now tell me where he is!"   
While the Vulcan seemed to think, I looked around for some loose ice or snow. Anything to give my magic power a little boost, because I could already tell that this was going to end in a fight. But there was nothing except a small white bundle not too far away from where we stood. It wasn't food, in fact....it was alive. The....whatever it was, was shivering and I could smell the fear radiating off of it. Without thinking, I slowly made my way over to the little white creature. I just hoped whatever it was wouldn't bite me.   
"Hey little guy, you okay?" I asked, my hand shaking as I went to touch the fluffball.   
"Is the scary monster gone?" came a small, sniffly voice.   
"Almost" I reassured the creature. "My friend is taking care of it." Looking over to where Natsu and the Vulcan were, I saw the Vulcan lead the fire dragon slayer towards an opening in the cave. And was barely surprised when the Vulcan threw Natsu off of the mountain. "Dammit" I hissed as I watched the perverted Vulcan dance around happily. "This is bad," I muttered. "Alright, little guy, you're coming with me" I said, not even waiting for a reply from the little white cat as I scooped him into my arms and rushed over to my sister.   
I could feel my magic energy building back up, but the concussion still caused my head to swim and my stomach to turn. "This is bad news," I told Lucy as we looked out of the opening Natsu had been thrown out of. "I don't know if I can take this guy on" I added truthfully.   
"He can't survive out there" Lucy whispered. "Natsu!!!" she called out.   
Behind us, I could hear the Vulcan chanting "Womans, womans, womans" over and over again.   
"Hey buddy, think you can just hang out right here for a minute?" I asked the little white cat in my arms. When he nodded, I placed him beside Lucy's discarded blanket. Allowing him to snuggle into the warmth my sister left behind. "By the way," I turned to Lucy "I got a cat."  
Lucy simply gaped at me before rolling her eyes in acceptance. As she pulled out her gate keys, I silently prayed that she would call Aquarius. Though I knew that it would be almost impossible. There was barely any water around here, and I doubt Lucy could use the ice to open the Water Bearers gate.   
"Alright you pervy monkey, you're going down," I said as I slammed my fists together to draw my magic circle. **_"Water Dragon: Roar!_** " My attack was weaker than usual because of the concussion, but it still knocked the Vulcan back and gave Lucy enough time to open Taurus's gate. Guess it's perv versus perv.   
"Cow?" muttered the Vulcan in confusion.   
"I should warn you, monkey boy, Taurus is the most powerful celestial spirit that I have a contract with," Lucy said confidently. Honestly, I think Aquarius was stronger magic wise. Though I was probably being biased, considering the water spirit provided me with the best water around.   
"Oh wow miss Lucy" started the large bovine. "I almost forgot what nice figures you and your sister have" he commented. "Why don't you two come and give me a smoooch?" asked Taurus with hearts in his eyes.   
"Yea and he's a big perv too" I grumbled. "At least he doesn't give off a rapey vibe."  
"No touch my womans" glared the perverted Vulcan.   
"Your women?" asked Taurus with a glare of his own. "Them's fighting words, Moooo-nkey!" At Lucy's command for attack, Taurus sprung into action, pulling the large double-headed ax off of his back. As he did, I readied myself. I had just enough strength right now to send another Roar at the Vulcan. So, when Taurus slammed down his mighty ax and used his rampage attack, sending an earthquake towards the Vulcan.   
As his Rampage grew closer, I drew my magic circle. **_"Water Dragon: Roar!"_** The power of our attacks would have been enough to send the Vulcan flying but we weren't expecting him to be as fast as he was. When the Vulcan began to run back towards us, I quickly moved so that I was out of the line of fire while Taurus simply readied himself for the attack. Something I knew Lucy probably didn't like. My sister was adamant about her Spirits not being shields and always hated when they got hurt.   
What was surprising, however, was the fact that it wasn't the Vulcan who had landed a hit on Taurus. In fact, it was Natsu who had managed to find his way back up the mountain.   
"Natsu!" gasped Lucy as Taurus and his ax, Labrys, flew backward.  
"Looks like this is the end for me" mumbled the large bull spirit.   
"Epic fail" I groaned, picking the little white cat I had fond up in my arms.   
"Hey" Natsu spoke up. "So how come there are more monsters now than when I left?" he asked, pointing towards an equally confused Vulcan.  
"He's a friend, dummy!" shouted my sister.  
Sighing, I ran a hand over my face. "That was Taurus, one of Lucy's spirits." And when Natsu pointed towards the Vulcan, I groaned loudly. "Not him, the bull!" I all but shouted, channeling my sister for a moment.   
"Wait a minute" Lucy intervened. "How were you able to survive out there?" she asked.  
At her question, Natsu turned and faced the two of us with a smirked. "Happy came to save me." Looking up, I saw that Happy was quietly floating above us. Catching sight of the blue cat, the white puffball in my arms wiggled free. Spouting wings of his own, he flew into the air to join his new friend.   
"So you can't handle other modes of transportation, but flying with Happy's okay?" Lucy asked.   
Lucy's question earned her a sharp scoff from the pink-haired dragon slayer. "What kind of stupid question is that?" he asked indignantly. "Happy isn't a mode of transportation. He's my friend. I mean, duh."  
"You're right, it was totally wrong of me to compare the two" came Lucy's response. Yea, Lu, you walked right into that one. Looking back up at the two flying cats, I couldn't help but smile. If I wasn't already planning on keeping the white ball of fur...  
Suddenly, we were interrupted by the sound of an angry Vulcan. "My womans!" the monster yelled, swinging to bring down his mighty fist. Attempting to squish Natsu for being so close to me and Lucy. I was almost surprised that Natsu was able to black the hit. Honestly, I was more surprised that the pressure caused the icy ground beneath their feet to shatter.   
"You listen up" Natsu growled. "I consider everyone in the Fairy Tail guild my friend." I didn't know who hit who, all I knew was that they both went flying in opposite directions. If I could guess, then I would assume that the Vulcan kicked Natsu. But was blocked and went flying backward. "Whether it's Gramps and Mira. Or even those annoying jerks Gray and Elfman." Lucy gasped as Natsu's speech went on. My eyes lit up when I saw him draw his magic circle. If I was lucky, then his fire would melt some of this ice and I could get some magic energy back. "Happy, Lucy, Selina, and even that white cat I've never even seen before. They're all my friends too. Which is why..." Natsu started, fire glowing around his feet. "I'm not leaving without Macao!"  
"Natsu!" I called out after he kicked the Vulcan to the far side of the cavern. "Quick, I need some water!" I said as I ran over to him.   
"Um. I'm a _fire_ dragon slayer" the boy pointed out.   
I really should have seen that one coming. "Melt the ice, dumbass," I told him. Natsu muttered a quick 'oh' before nodding slightly in understanding. Neither of us taking our eyes off of the temporarily knocked out monster, I picked up a chunk of ice. Without saying a word, Natsu lit a flame in his hand and held it over the ice. Allowing it to melt into my cupped hands. The resulting water was cool to the touch and as soon as I gulped it down I could feel my magic energy growing to the point where the headache from my concussion was all but a distant memory.  
Finally ready to throw every bit of dragon slayer magic I had in me at the Vulcan "Now that's the stuff" I smirked. Watching as the monster rose with a roar. A second later, the creature sent a barrage of large icicles at us. I was able to jump out of the way in time, while Natsu simply melting the I've to water as it came at him.   
"Your ice attack has no effect on fire!" Natsu shouted.   
When the rubble cleared, my eyes went wide. Apparently, Taurus hadn't gone back to the Spirit World. And now....now the Vulcan had Labrys in his hands. "That's not good," I said, sharing a look with both Lucy and Natsu.   
"He's got Taurus's ax!" Lucy gasped.   
"Please be careful, Miss Lucy" groaned the concussed Spirit.   
Quickly, the overlarge monkey began to swing Labrys wildly at Natsu and me. And honestly, I was barely able to dodge every time. Only to be taken out by Natsu slipping on the ice and crashing into me. Shaking my head, my eyes snapped open when the Vulcan went to slam the blade of Labrys into us. Breath catching in my throat when Natsu managed to grab the mighty ax between his hands.   
Taking this as my chance, I quickly drew my magic circle. **_"Water Dragon: Roar!_** " I shouted, letting out an extreme torrent of frigid water. Blasting the monster backward and relieving Natsu. However, the reprieve didn't last long as I had hoped and unfortunately the Vulcan was back. Once more trying to slam the ax down on Natsu. Fortunately, the Fire Dragon Slayer was ready and as soon as he caught the blade between his palms, the metal of the blade began to melt. The molten steel falling into Natsu's open mouth.  
"Oh yea, now I got a fire in my belly," he said through a mouthful of what was essentially sold fire. And as he spits the bits of metal back at the Vulcan at rapid speed, I couldn't help but chuckle. And as he drew his magic circle, I waited. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu as he hit the monstrous monkey with a fist of fire.   
The second his attack hit I drew a shimmery blue circle of my own, water instantly viciously surrounding my legs. **_"Water Dragon: Rapids Kick!"_ **I shouted, launching my leg forward in a roundhouse like motion. As I did, the whirlpool coating my legs lashed outwards like a bullet. Sending the Vulcan crashing into the icy rock wall of the cavern.   
"We beat him!" cheered Happy once we were sure that the Vulcan was completely down for the count.   
"Is the monster really gone?" asked the little white cat as he flew back down into my arms.  
"Yea" Lucy smiled at him. "But" she added, looking sternly at me and Natsu. "Wasn't this monkey supposed to tell us where your friend is?" she asked.   
"I forgot about that" Natsu chuckled.   
Laughing, I gave the talking cat in my arms a light squeeze. "We might have overdone it a little" I giggled nervously. "I don't think he's gonna do much talking" I added as Lucy looked over the unconscious monkey. Jumping back in shock when the creature began to glow.   
I'm pretty sure Vulcans don't glow. Or turn in to men, for that matter. But this Vulcan was doing both. "Macao?" Natsu gasped once the dust cleared and we could get a good look at the dark-haired older man that the Vulcan had turned into.   
"Wait, are you telling me that big perverted monkey was actually your friend this whole time?!" Lucy asked in shock. I was just as shocked as my sister. This wasn't something you see every day.   
From in the air beside Lucy, Happy nodded. "Yea," he said. "He must have been taken over by that Vulcan."  
"And by 'taken over' you mean....?" trailed my question. Unsure of what the little blue cat was saying. I don't have any memories of dealing with magic like this.   
"It must have used a possession spell on him" Happy answered. "You see, Vulcans survive by stealing people's bodies and taking them over. They're evil body snatchers."  
Quickly we set to work. Even without the added damage from me and Natsu's attacks, Macao looked really really hurt. So I ran and grabbed the blanket Lucy and the white cat had been using and laid it out on the ice while Lucy grabbed the first aid kit from Natsu's bag. Patching the elder wizard up the best we could. "It looks like he put up a good fight before that Vulcan finally got into him, though" I commented as I tied off the last bandage.  
Quietly, I watched as Natsu pleaded with Macao. Begging him not to die. Telling the unconscious man that his son was waiting for him back at the guildhall. And mentioning Romeo seemed to do the trick as Macaos eyes began to open. "Natsu?"   
I couldn't help my sigh of relief. "You're okay!" I laughed. Though I had ever met the man before, I knew that he meant a lot to my friend and I was glad that he was relatively okay.  
"I'm so pathetic" the man sniffed. "I defeat 19 of those brutes" Macao told us. My mouth dropped in shock. Nineteen of the crazy-ass Vulcan monsters? I was impressed, I could barely take out one. "But the 20th" Macaos sighed. "That's the one that got me, I'm so angry with myself," he said. "I'm embarrassed to go home and face Romeo."  
"Don't be like that. Come on, man" Natsu shook his head.  
"Yea" I nodded. "You were able to beat 19 monsters when two dragons slayers were barely able to beat one. I call that a win."   
At my words, Natsu put out his hand and looked at Macao with a goofy grin. Giving in, Macao gripped Natsu's hand tightly. "Now let's go home. Your little boys been waiting for you."  
We made our way back down the mountain after that. Both Natsu and I trying to deny going inside the carriage once more. But despite our motion sickness, we knew that Macao was in no condition to travel by foot, or even by flying cat.  
I had decided the second I found him that I was going to take the little cat home with me. And I already had a name picked out, after making sure he hadn't named himself first. Lucy seemed to like the little white cat, whom I had named Wren, a lot more than Happy. Which kind of made sense, considering Wren didn't tease my sister at every chance. Instead, he curled up to nap in between the two of us.   
The sun was setting, turning the sky beautiful shades of yellows, pinks, and oranges. Slowly the four of us walked towards the guildhall. Where we found the young Romeo sulking on the steps. Worried about his father.   
"Hey, Romeo!" Natsu called out, Macao's arm slung over his shoulder. The little boy looked up and wiped the tears from his face before his eyes went wide with shock. In the blink of an eye, the little boy screeched and tackled his father. The two of them falling to the cobblestone street in a mess of laughter and tears.   
Wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, I turned away with my sister. Letting the father and son have their moment and laughing when I heard Macao repeat what I had said up on Mount Hakobe. Stating that he had beat 19 monsters all by himself when two dragon slayers couldn't even beat one.   
"Natsu! Happy! Thanks for your help!!" Romeo yelled.   
"No prob kiddo" Natsu chuckled, waving a hand while Happy gave a quick 'Aye!'  
"Lucy! Selina!! Thanks for helping to bring my daddy back to me!"  
Happily, Lucy and I turned around and waved at the boy. "Anytime Romeo!" I told him.   
It had been such a crazy day. First joining the guild of my dreams, followed by a crazy adventure. Lucy always likes to point out that I had powerful magic. But I rarely got to use it back home at the Heartfilia mansion. Just all but forbade it. So being able to fight that Vulcan today was amazing.   
If every day was like today; Then I couldn't wait for the rest of my life.


	3. Infiltrate the Everlue Mansion

_**3\. Infiltrate the Everlue mansion** _

Lucy and I had managed to find an apartment not too far from the guildhall for only 70,00 jewel a month. Which wasn't all that bad nowadays. Sure for a while, we would be living from job-to-job, but it was worth it. Between the two of us, it should be a piece of cake. Plus, we were free from Jude Heartfilia and we were members of the greatest guild on all of Fiore. The Fairy Tail Guild was wild and destructive, but I wouldn't have them any other way.   
As soon as we had gotten back to the guildhall after rescuing Macao, I had talked to Master Makarov. Asking him of Wren could join the guild too. I knew that it was possible, considering I had seen the Fairy Tail mark on Happy's back. So, with a guild mark matching my own on his little white back, Wren became the new newest member of the rambunctious guild.   
My sister and I had always shared a room. Ever since Layla found me scared and alone seven years ago. So I wasn't against our new apartment being a studio. Especially for the price. I loved everything about our new place. Everything from the spacious tub to the floor space to the amazing closets that were just a little bit smaller than the walk-in closets we had back at the Heartfilia mansion. And that's not to mention the cute little retro fireplace that Wren had already started to enjoy. Moving the little bed I had gotten him as close to the fireplace as possible without burning anything.   
Poor thing was still chilled to the bone after being stuck on Mount Hakobe all this time.   
While Lucy went to take a nice warm bath, I got to work building the fire back up and getting breakfast ready. But I wasn't expecting Natsu and Happy to show up and completely demolish the room I had worked so hard to clean. "Our bedroom!" Lucy shouted as she stood in the doorway to our bathroom in nothing but a towel.   
"I tried to stop them, Lu," I told her with a small pout, not taking my eyes off the mess our friends had made of my nice clean sitting area.   
"Get the heck out of here, you jerks!" Lucy shouted, landing a harsh kick to Natsu's jaw. Trapping Happy between Natsu and the wall with her foot. The two boys had no clue how violent my sister could get when she was peeved.   
When Lucy finally removed her foot, Natsu stood and held his sore cheek. "Geeze, I just came over to check out your new pad."  
"Oh, yea! Well what you guys call 'checking out', I call 'barging in!'" shouted my sister as Natsu and Happy trembled in fear. And while Lucy continued to lecture the boys, I got to work cleaning up the mess they had made. I had a feeling that they were going to make a habit of this. Which meant I would more than likely be cleaning up after them.   
I would just make Natsu do it, but really I just couldn't help myself. The mess bothered me and it needed to be cleaned. "Hey, quit scratching, bud!" I shouted at Happy, who was proceeding to claw at the wall. Even Wren hadn't tried to do that. Instead, my little flying kitty was content with scratching at the post I had made for him. He may have been a different cat, one who could talk and fly, but he was still a cat.  
"Hey, what's all this?" Natsu asked as he picked up a stack of papers from lucy's desk. My face instantly went red and I tried to grab the papers back.  
"You might want to put those down" I muttered, hoping that Lucy didn't notice. She didn't want anyone reading her novel. I haven't even been able to get a peek at it.   
Unfortunately, Lucy noticed Natsu's curiosity and began to freak. "Nothing!" she shrieked, once more kicking Natsu in the face before grabbing the stack of paper away from him.   
"So you just kicked me in the face over nothing?" Natsu asked blandly. Obviously not believing Lucy.   
"Yea, maybe I would!" defended my sister. "Now would you please just go home?" she asked.   
"Oh, but you guys' place is way more exciting."  
Looking at the Fire Dragon Slayer, my eyebrow twitched. "I hate boys" whined Lucy.  
Sighing, I walked over to Lucy to help her stand. Smacking Natsu on the back of the head as I went. "Come one, Lu. How about you go get dressed and I'll finish cleaning up out here" I suggested. Only for my sister to shriek and rush off to the bathroom. I looked at Natsu sternly, causing both him and Happy to audibly gulp. "I want the two of you two sit down and not say anything," I told them. Natsu gave me a huff but still did as I asked and sat back down on the chair with Happy beside them.   
With a shake of my head, I walked over to the fireplace and started the water for tea. While the water heated up, I stepped around Wrens bed and started to clean up Natsu and Happy's mess. Glaring at the fire-breather when he opened his mouth to speak. As messy as the room had looked, it hadn't really been that bad, so it didn't take long to clean up. Before I knew it, the tea was steeping and Lucy was finishing up in the bathroom.   
"I made the lemon one you like," I told my sister as I handed her the little pink teacup she had picked out. When she sat down opposite Natsu, I poured tea into another three cups for Wren, Happy, and Natsu. While they sipped their tea, I grabbed a packet of instant coffee from the small table we had near the stove and dumped it into a mug, filling the cup the rest of the way with boiling water, creamer, and sugar. I wasn't in the mood for tea.   
"Look, we just moved in and we're not ready for guests," Lucy told the boys with an irritated huff. "So how about you two just drink your tea. Say thanks, and get out? You got that?"   
"No need to be rude, Lu," I told her with a hum. Even though I was as irritated as my sister was. "Still though, guys, we really just want a few days to settle in before we start having people over," I told the boys.   
Natsu looked dejected for a moment before sitting up "Hey, I know" he said. "Why don't you show me and Happy all those weird little key guys that you like to collect?" he suggested. And when he did, I all but choked on my coffee. Coughing to cover up my laugh.   
"For your information" Lucy started sending me a small glare she did. "They're called Celestial Spirits."  
"How many of these Celestial Spirits do you have contracts with?" Happy asked.   
Instantly, my sisters' attitude changed. She loved her spirits, and she loved talking about them. "Six so far" Lucy grinned, holding up the ring she kept her keys on. She really needed to get something better for them. "Not to brag or anything, but I even have a couple different types of them" she explained. "The silver keys are the ones that you can find in the magic shops. I've got Horologium the Clock, Crux the Southern Cross and Lyra the Harp" Lucy said, pointing out each key as she went. "But the gold ones are super rare. There are twelve total and they open the gates of the Zodiac. I've got Taurus the Golden Bull, Aquarius the Water Bearer, and that last one is Cancer the Giant Crab."  
At that, both Natsu and Happy gasped in excitement. Even Wren looked up from his spot on my lap. "Giant crab!? Giant crab legs!!" the boys exclaimed. No doubt envisioning something totally different than what Cancer actually looked like.   
"Even Selina's not this obsessed with food" Lucy groaned.   
"Speaking of spirits" I spoke up. "You still need to make a contract with the key you bought back in Hargeon."  
"Oh wow, thanks for reminding me, Selina" Lucy grinned before standing up. "I don't suppose you fellas are interested in seeing how a Celestial Wizard makes a contract with a Celestial Spirit?" she asked.  
Natsu and Happy huddled together and started whispering back and forth. However, it wasn't like we couldn't hear them whispering about grotty blood pacts and something about butts. "Guys, we can hear you," I told them, causing both Natsu and Happy stand up straight as if they had been caught doing something wrong.   
"Alright, pay attention" Lucy spoke, holding up the silver key. "I call upon thee in the world of the Celestial Spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the Gate." I loved Lucy's magic, it reminded me of my childhood. And tickled the furthest recesses of long lost memories. As if I'd had some kind of connection to the celestial spirits long before Layla and Lucy found me.   
Maybe my biological parents were Celestial Wizards? Or maybe Coventina had said something about the magic when I was a little kid.   
"Open, Gate of Canis Minor. Come, Nichola!" Lucy shouted. As he plunged her key downwards, the sound of a sharp 'ding-dong' wafter through the air as she drew her magic circle. I watched, excitedly as light filled the room. Waiting patiently for the spirit.   
I was not expecting a snowman.   
"Nice try" the boys commented.   
"Shut up I meant to do that!" shouted my sister before dropping to the ground to give the snowman a hug. "Aww, you are such a cutie-patootie."  
"You think so?"'  
"It doesn't take much make magic power to get these little guys through the gate" Lucy explained. "So a lot of wizards actually keep them as pets."  
At some point, Wren had walked over and was now huddling with Happy and Natsu. "You know, this whole pet thing doesn't sit well with me" Happy commented, too which Wren nodded his little white head.   
"Not with a weird master like Loony here" Natsu whispered back. Obviously forgetting that we could hear them. Though I was slightly surprised that Wren continued to nod along.   
Granted, he has spent a lot of time with Lucy. And as much as I loved my sister, she was still crazy. But really aren't we all?  
"My name is Lucy and I can still hear you" grumbled the blonde. Sighing, Lucy grabbed a notepad and a pencil from her desk and sat down on the floor with the shivering snowman. "Well, let's start working on our contract."   
Knowing that figuring out the spirits free days could take a bit, I grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. Hammering out the details for a contract with a Celestial Spirit tended to be boring, especially with one that couldn't talk. So I knew that I wasn't going to miss much. Sure contracts and promises were extremely important to Celestial Wizards, but the process was still really freaking boring.   
One my hair was back up in my normal pigtails, I flattened out the wrinkles in my t-shirt and left the bathroom. "Coom here, Plue" I heard my sister say. Looking over to her, I saw that Lucy was crouched down on the floor. Holding out her arms for the shivery little snowman.   
"Plue, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"I think it's like the cutest name ever" Lucy squealed, looking up at me with the spirit, Plue, in her arms. Well, I don't know about 'cutest' but it still fits well with the snowman.   
"Are you sure he's cool with that?" asked Natsu.   
"Why wouldn't he be?" was Lucy's response.   
From his spot on the table beside Happy, Wren looked at Plue with confusion written on his little face. "So even though his sign is The Little Dog, he doesn't bark?"   
"Yea that is kind of weird" Happy nodded.  
"I don't hear you guys meowing over there" I chuckled, sitting in the chair Lucy had been in earlier. "Whoah, what's he doing?" I asked when Plue jumped from Lucy's arms and began to do what I think was a dance.   
Natsu looked at Plue. Concentration on his face as he watched the Spirit dance. It kind of looked like Natsu was listening to him. I tried to hone my hearing to see if maybe I was missing something, but I got nothing. Must be just Natsu then.   
"Oh man you're right about that, Plue!" laughed the fire dragon slayer.   
Lucy simply gasped. "You can understand him!" Really I couldn't blame her for being shocked. I kinda was too. "What's your deal?" Lucy asked Natsu.   
"Dude, that's kinda creepy" I commented as my fellow dragon slayer continued to stare at my sister. His dark eyes cutting towards me to give me the same intense look he had given my sister. "You're freaking me out."  
Natsu stood a moment later with a large grin on his face. "Alright, then it's settled" he stated, rising to his full height. "You're both gonna be a part of our team. Plue and Wren too" Natsu added a moment later.   
"Your...team?" Lucy asked.  
Happy nodded and smiled. "Aye," said the cat. "Even though everyone in the guild is allied to one another, some members that get along really well get together and form teams within the guild. That way, jobs that may be too hard for one person to take can get done by a team" Happy informed us.   
"Is there like a size limit or something?" I asked, wondering briefly if there was a certain number of wizards we could have on a team.   
"Well..." Happy thought for a moment, putting a paw on his chin. "Not really," he said. "I think the Thunder Legion has the most members at four. But no one ever said we couldn't have more than that!"  
"Well okay then, I'm in!" I told them excitedly, looking to my sister with a grin.   
"Awesome, let's do this!" Lucy cheered before bumping fists with me and Natsu.   
"Cool. So you're gonna work with us?" Natsu asked with a wide grin.   
"Yep" I nodded.   
"You have our word" Lucy agreed.  
At that, Natsu had a look of pure excitement on his face. "Okay, team, then let's get to work" he cheered, holding up a slip of paper. "I've got our first job right here."  
"It's all happening so fast" Lucy squealed, grabbing the paper from the hands of our pink hared friend."Let us see what you got there" she said.   
Looking over her shoulder, I read over the job request. It was in Shirotsume, a small town not too far away from Magnolia. Actually, if I remembered correctly, it was near Mount Hakobe. If only we had known about this job before coming back to town after rescuing Macao. But still, it offered 200,000 jewel just for recovering a book from a rich guy named Duke Everlue.   
Sounded easy enough.  
"Should be a piece of cake, right?" Natsu chuckled.   
Lucy went to agree but suddenly stopped short. "Everlue's a dirty old man who's currently looking for maids with blond hair" she read.   
"We know a blond-haired girl, don't we?" Natsu muttered to Happy with a girn.   
"Aye," the cat nodded. "And I bet we can find her a maid's uniform."  
"Oh, you sneaky little shit heads" I muttered, grabbing the paper from Lucy so that I could read it over once more.   
"It's a good thing that Celestial Wizards never go back on their word 'cause now you're stuck with us" I heard Natsu chuckle. Teasing my sister, suggesting she 'get into character' and address Happy as 'Master'. As Lucy shouted at him, I put the paper down on the desk and grabbed one of Lucy's heavier books, and threw it full force at Natsu's thick head.

  
\-----------------

  
Why couldn't we have walked? Or at least have Wren and Happy fly me and Natsu as far as they can. Why did we have to be stuck inside of this moving hell?  
Thankfully, I still wasn't as sick as Natsu was. But the queasiness in my stomach was considerably worse since yesterday. This sucked.  
"Are you enjoying your carriage ride today, Master? Anything I can get for you? " Lucy sneered. Getting a little payback, which I could understand. I would have done the same thing.   
"If your offering Lu" I gagged. "I could really use a barf bag right about now."  
"Poor Lina" Wren purred beside me, patting my leg sympathetically. All I could do was give a shaky smile to the little white cat.  
"Hey I'm playing the part of the master, so I should be giving the orders!" Happy shouted. My eyes were closed but I could guarantee that he was waving his arms frantically.   
"Shut up, you stupid feline!" Lucy shouted back. Causing me to groan and for Wren to give an indignant scoff. Even though he knew that Lucy liked him more. "Oh, hey Natsu?"  
"What's up?" groaned a pained fire dragon slayer.  
"Well, I was just wondering why you picked me to join your team.....I mean Selina's really strong, and uses the same kind of magic..." my sister trailed off. Causing me to scoff.  
"How many times do I gotta tell ya..." I started, but honestly, if I finished my sentence then I woulda hurled. My sister was strong, even if she didn't think so. I knew that being in this guild will help her start to believe in herself. Lucy had the potential to be a really powerful Celestial Wizard. And I for one couldn't wait to see it.   
"Cuz you seem like a nice person" Natsu answered queasily. "But your just so weird" he added. This guy really had no tact. But I knew that I was stuck with him. We had made a pact to find our dragons and ask them what the hell their deal was. And maybe even find a way to get my memories back. Sure I had an entire life of being Selina Heartfilia, but even if I had only been a child.....who was I before that? My name, my biological parents.....  
For the first time ever, I was thankful for the bumps in the road that turned my stomach. The motion sickness helped me distract myself. Which was good, we had a job to do, and getting weepy wasn't going to help anything.  
"Anyway, I'm totally stoked about my first real job. And I even though she's just as sick as you are right now, I know Selina is too. Right, Lina?"  
"Yup, we're gonna rock it" I groaned. My hand shaking as I gave her a thumbs up.   
"Really!?" said a surprised Happy. "I thought you were upset about it."  
Lucy gave a simple shrug. "Yea I was upset at first," she told him. "But if this perv likes pretty girls, then I'm perfect for the job, right?" she said.  
Since the add only called for blonde girls, Lucy and I had decided to call Cancer and have him make my hair blonde for this job. Thanks to his special type of magic, the effects were temporary. I loved my sister, but we looked so much alike that sometimes it was hard to tell us apart. One of the reasons why I was thankful I had black hair.   
When Happy said that all of us humans looked alike to him, I was surprised that Lucy didn't hit him. But I was sure that it would happen sooner or later. So instead of lashing out at the little blue cat, she simply asked about our pay scale. "Since Selina and I are doing all the work, I think we should split the reward 40, 40, 10, and 10" she suggested.   
"Wow, you guys only want ten percent each!" Happy exclaimed.   
"No, we want forty each!" Lucy shouted.   
This was going to be a long ride.

  
\---------------

  
When our carriage finally stopped, Natsu and I all but fought each other to be first out of the carriage. With a sharp kick, I was thankfully the first to hit the solid, unmoving ground and rejoiced. Even though I still felt a little queasy, it was good to finally stop moving. I was definitely seeing if Wren could fly me most of the way home.   
"That's the last time I'm riding in one of those" groaned Natsu.   
"You say that every time" Happy told the fire-breather.   
"Man, I'm starving" Natsu sighed, looking around for a place to eat. Now that he mentioned it, I was pretty hungry myself and I could feel my gums tingle at the prospect of water.   
"Can't you just eat your own fire?" Lucy asked Natsu, causing me to groan loudly. She knew that I and Natsu had, basically, the same magic. So she should have realized that since I couldn't eat my own water, Natsu couldn't eat his own fire.   
"Oh yea, that's a great idea" Natsu grumbled sarcastically. "Why don't you just eat Plue or your cow while we're at it."  
"Why would I do something like that?" asked Lucy, clearly not getting the point.   
"Its kind of the same thing" mumbled the pink-haired dragon slayer.   
Lucy was silent for a few minutes as she thought over what Natsu was saying. "So let me get this straight" she started. "You can eat fire, but just not your own?" asked Lucy.   
"Kinda like how I can't 'eat' my own water," I told her, putting air quotes around the word 'eat'.  
"Oh, yea" Lucy nodded as if she suddenly just remembered. "That's still kinda lame."  
We walked a while more, Natsu and I keeping our noses focused on a place to eat. As I did, I chatted with Wren, telling him bits and pieces about my magic. At the sudden scent of stew, my stomach gave a loud grumble. "Hey guys, check it out" I commented, pointing towards the restaurant ahead.   
"Whoah, let's stop and get a bite" Natsu suggested.   
Lucy simply shook her head and kept walking. "Nah, I'm alright," she said with a wave. "But you guys enjoy," my sister told us with a smile. "Selina, order me something?" she asked me. "I'll meet back up with you guys in a bit."  
"Yea, no problem" I nodded, making mental note to order Lucy's favorite.   
As we walked into the restaurant, Natsu and Happy commented on Lucy not eating with us. Stating that teammates should really eat together. Though they still shrugged it off in the end as we proceeded to order as much food as possible. I also made a point to tell our waiter to pack up some of the sushi in a to-go package for my sister.   
I knew that if I were to leave it up to the boys, then my poor sister would be left with the fatty bits of the meat they had ordered. "From the looks of her, that's what she likes the most" Happy commented with a mouthful of fish.   
"Hold it right there, cat" came my sisters' voice from behind me. Turning around my jaw dropped. So that's what she had disappeared to go do. Lucy was standing there in a cute little maid costume, complete with girlish pigtails and bag under her arm. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" she asked, cocking her hip to the side when she saw Natsu's eyes widen. "Come on" she grinned. "Don't be shy, boys. I know I look super cute in this uniform. And Selina, you're gonna be just as cute as soon as you put this on" Lucy added, handing the bag to me. Just as I thought, she had gotten me a matching uniform. Had to look the part I suppose. Not that I was complaining, of course, I knew that Lucy and I were going to rock those uniforms.   
It only took me a second to change into the uniform. Lucy and I looking more identical than we ever had. Our only differences being our eyes and our guild marks. "Have you had enough food, Master?" I asked shyly. Thankful for my acting skills. "Or should we bring you some more? Your wish is our command" This time Lucy and I spoke in unison. Playing off the 'sexy twins' role perfectly.   
On the other side of the table, I could hear Natsu and Happy whispering to themselves. Wren being smart enough to stay out of the conversation. When Happy mentioned us needing a costume being joke, my gaze dropped down into a glare, and the water in Natsu's cup boiled over and exploded.   
"We can hear you" I grumbled.   
"If it means anything, I think you guys look great!" Wren commented, swallowing a piece of sushi happily.   
"Aww, thanks bud" I giggled, patting the little white cat on the head. 

  
\-----------------

  
We finished eating in relative peace. Though Lucy spent a lot of it glaring at Natsu and Happy. The two of us had stayed in our maid costumes. Might as well stick with the act after spending good money on the outfits.   
From the restaurant, we made our way towards the lavish mansion of Mister Kaby Melon. The man who had hired us. It was weird though. The house didn't smell like the older man or his wife. In fact, it smelled like other people completely. Weird. If Natsu caught on the different scents in the house, then he didn't say anything.   
In fact, he was more excited over the guys 'tasty-sounding' last name. "Quit being rude guys," Lucy told Natsu and happy who began drooling at the word 'Melon'.   
"Don't worry, I get that a lot" Mr. Melon chuckled. Beside me, Lucy had a look of concentration in her eyes. I'd have to ask her about that later. "Well, first things first" Kaby spoke. "Allow me to tell you about the job."  
"Go on" I prompted as the others sat up straight.   
"It's pretty straight forward, really," the man said. "Duke Everlue has a book called 'Daybreak' in his possession" he explained. "I would like you to burn it for me."  
"No prob," Natsu said instantly. "I'll burn the whole place down if you want" he offered with a flame on his fingertip.   
"He likes fire" Happy commented with a giggle.   
"I'm not going to jail for arson because of the two of you," Lucy told the boys.  
Worried, Wren looked up at me with wide blue eyes. "We're not gonna go to jail are we Lina?" he asked me, his paws fiddling with the tail of his light blue scarf.  
"No, buddy" I chuckled, picking him up and putting him on my lap. "May I ask why you want us to burn the book, sir?" I asked Mr. Melon.  
"For 200,00 jewel, who the heck cares?" Natsu scoffed.   
It was then that Kaby spoke up. "The reward has been raised to 2 million," he told us. Causing all of us to look at him in shock. Two million jewel just to burn some book? There had to be something he wasn't telling us. "I'm sorry, I thought you were aware the amount had changed."  
"Two million split three ways?" gasped Natsu before grabbing onto his head. "Wow! I stink at math, but that's a lot!"  
After that, it was clear that Natsu and Happy weren't going to be the ones who handled our teams' rewards. Especially since Happy tried cutting me, Lucy and Wren out of the reward money. The little jerk. I made a mental note to kick the two of them later.   
"Why'd you raise the reward?" Lucy asked, trying her best to ignore the boys.   
At my sisters' question, Mr. Melon clenched his hands together. Sadness and pure emotion rolling off of him in waves. "Well, because it means that much to me" he answered. "That book must be destroyed no matter the cost."  
I was not expecting Natsu to spontaneously combust. "What the hell man!" I shrieked before sending a blob of water at his head so that he didn't burn down this really nice house that we couldn't afford to repair.   
Not bothering to comment, Natsu grabbed me and Lucy by the hand and dragged us out of the house. "I am fired up now! Let's do this, guys!" she shouted.   
"Wait a sec!" Lucy screeched.   
Still, Natsu didn't stop pulling us until he realized that we had no clue where Duke Everlue's place was. When he finally let go of my arm, I had to give my shoulder a quick rub. Natsu had all but pulled it out of my socket. The jerk.

  
\----------------

  
Duke Everlue's mansion was larger than I thought it was going to be. And I was honestly freaking out a little. How the hell were we supposed to find Daybreak in there? It would probably take a while. This job was gonna suck, I just knew it.  
"Excuse me, we heard you had an opening for a maid position. Hello?!" she called out.   
All we had to do was wow this pervy duke with our looks and burn some stupid book. I just hoped finding that book would be easy. We really use that two million jewel. As we stood by the gate, waiting for an answer from the Duke, I started to grow worried. Anxiety tickling at my tummy, and my magic bubbling underneath the surface. As if the water of my body was reacting to an attack of some kind.   
I brushed the thought from my mind. Deeming it an impossibility that me and Lucy would be attacked here of all places. Oh, how wrong I was. Because the next thing I knew, the ground opened up behind us and out popped a large....... Well, to be honest, it looked like a large gorilla wearing an ill-fitting maids uniform. And she smelled....really familiar. Like Loke did back at the guildhall.  
Weird.  
"So you two are maids?" asked the gorilla woman.   
"Yea" Lucy nodded nervously.   
"I'm assuming you're here 'cause you say the ad that the Master placed in the paper" the large, pink-haired woman stated. "And if that is true, then you know that the Master did not ask for twins." Which was something I had thought about. While the ad didn't explicitly state that Duke Everlue was looking for twins, it also didn't say he wasn't. But since it was known that Everlue was a bit of a perv, Lucy and I took the chance and went with the tried and true 'sexy twins' act.  
It was risky, of course, but the jewel was worth it.   
"Boyoyoyo" echoed a voice. "Did I hear someone say 'Master'?" Suddenly, a short fat man with a handle-bar mustache popped out of the ground the same way that the gorilla woman did. "Let's see here" continued the tiny little man as he looked the two of us over.   
"Well we sure hope you like what you see" Lucy and I giggled in unison.   
Everlue all but glared as he looked the two of us over. Before a disgusted look washed over his face. "I'll pass," he said. "I asked for one beautiful maid, not two ugly ones. Now scram!" he sneered.   
D-did he just call us....ugly? I knew I wasn't the hottest chick around but I'm sure I wasn't that bad off.   
At her Masters' words, the large woman picked both Lucy and me by the waist. "You heard the man. Get going...uglies" said Gorilla Woman.   
"Sorry. But as a man of my standing has certain standards to uphold" Everlue told us. "That's why I only hire the fairest of the fair" he added. The second he spoke, four other maids popped up behind them. All of them posing as if they were centerfolds for Sorcerer Weekly. Though none of them looked the part.  
I almost gagged as I watched the maids all cooing over Everlue. Telling him that he was the best Master and stroking his ego. The sight made me more nauseous than any motion sickness ever did. With one more insult sent our way, Lucy and I sulked off back into the woods where Natsu, Wren, and Happy were waiting for us.   
"Just couldn't do it, huh?" Natsu sighed, while Lucy sobbed beside a tree. I was still merely in shock. That man's vision of 'beautiful' was obviously skewed.   
"We tried," I told him with a pout. Though the pout disappeared when Wren came and gave me a hug. "Thanks, bud" I smiled.   
"Yea, but that idiot wouldn't know beauty if it bit him in the behind!" Lucy shouted with tears rolling down her cheeks. Happy gave her a sly 'uh-huh', causing Lucy to start sobbing all over again. "This stinks!" she sobbed.  
"Okay," Natsu said, slamming his fist into his hand. "I guess we'll have to resort to old Plan T" he continued.   
His words thankfully rousing Lucy's more aggressive side. "Yea, that big fat jerks gonna pay for this!" she shouted. "Right Selina!"  
"Hell yea," I told her with a nod. "I Just got one question" I added, looking back at Natsu. "What's plan T?" I asked.   
"Take 'em by storm!" Happy cheered excitedly.   
Sharing a look with Wren, I grinned. Oh, that sounded like fun.

  
\--------------

  
While Lucy and I changed out of our made costumes, Cancer fixed my hair. Changing the color of my hair back to its usual black. Once I looked more like me, we were ready to go. Sneaking around the outskirts of the Everlue property so find a safe place to break in. Natsu and I using our noses to help find our perfect entryway.   
After talking Natsu out of kicking down the mansions' front door.   
Once we found a spot, Happy and Wren flew me, Natsu and Lucy up to the roof. Natsu heating up his hand to burn away the wall of a room on the topmost level. We couldn't bee seen from the road and we didn't smell anyone nearby.   
"Thanks a lot, you guys" I smiled at the two cats. "I owe the two of you some fish once we're done with this mission."  
"Aye" the cats said in unison.   
"This isn't really taking 'em by storm, you know," Natsu told us grumpily. "I think we should have just busted right through the front door" he added.   
"What did we tell you before?" Lucy asked. "We're not going to jail 'cause of you."  
"Yea but I thought you two were out to get revenge on this guy" Natsu pointed out.   
"Oh, we'll get our revenge" I smirked.   
"Not only are we gonna burn this book but I'm gonna use his toothbrush to clean the toilet" Lucy chuckled evilly.  
"That's gross, Lu," I said with a wrinkle in my nose.   
"Yea, really gross" Wren agreed with a nod and a giggle.  
We entered the mansion as quiet as we could. Searching through the first room in near silence. There wasn't much in the room. Some knick-knacks and books that were not Daybreak. So we moved on the next. Which was some kind of storeroom. A place that creeps Everlue kept his weird objects.   
And naturally Happy found the creepiest piece, the face of a human skull, and held it against his own face. Growling spookily to freak out my sister.   
Which worked, of course, as Lucy slumped against the wall in fright.   
"You're looking fierce, Happy" Natsu chuckled at the cat.   
The rest of the rooms were much of the same. Nothing but barely touched furniture and curios. And more books that weren't Daybreak. There was, however, a bathroom that was made almost completely of gold. With Everlue face molded onto the front of the all-gold toilet bowl.   
Though Lucy couldn't get her revenge, as there wasn't a toothbrush in the room.   
"Are we gonna have to search every room in this whole stinking place?" Natsu asked as we shuffled down the hall. Happy still wearing the skull on his head.   
"Looks like it" I nodded.   
"I think we should take a hostage and force them to tell us where the book is" Natsu suggested.   
"Aye," Happy agreed, while Wren shook his head vigorously beside him.  
Lucy rolled her eyes are the Fire Wizard. "Kind of the whole idea here is not to be seen, you dummy. You gotta be stealthy."  
"Yea, like a ninja" I added, looking around to make sure that no one was coming.   
Natsu seemed like he was in a daze after that. "Like a real ninja," he said, a stupid look on his face while he daydreamed. He's so weird.   
"What goes on inside that head of yours?" Lucy asked him.  
Suddenly the Maid Brigade jumped up from the floorboards. "Intruder alert, Virgo!" they shouted, each one brandishing a long push broom.   
"Let's crush 'em, girls" announced the large gorilla woman as she rose up from the floor as well.   
"We're toast" Lucy and I gulped while Happy and Wren screamed in fright.   
The maids also screaming in terror when they caught sight of the skull that Happy still hadn't taken off. "Its a monster!" they yelled.   
Suddenly, Natus lit a fist on fire and swung at the maids. "Ninja power!" Natsu shouted as his fist connected. Sending them all flying across the large hall area we were standing in.   
" ** _Flying Virgo Attack!_** " shouted the gorilla maid as she jumped into the air and powerbombed Natsu into the ground.   
"Oh no!" gasped the four of us.  
Looking towards Happy, Wren tapped the blue cat's shoulder. "Hey you can take that spooky mask off now, Happy," said the little white cat.   
Thanks to my superior sense of smell, I knew that Natsu wasn't a goner. Before he started to rise, I could hear him straining against the weight of the large, pink-haired maid. And the second he threw the large maid, who seemed to be named Virgo, off of him, Natsu drew a magic circle beneath his feet. Throwing her away with a fiery kick. "We mustn't let ourselves be discovered," he said from behind his scarf. "We are ninja."  
"Ninja" Happy repeated from Natsu's shoulder.   
"You guys are literally the opposite of ninja's" I deadpanned. These two were ridiculous, but at least Happy finally took off his little 'mask'.  
"Ninja's are supposed to be quiet, guys" Lucy reminded them with a groan.   
The next room we checked, we finally hit the jackpot. Duke Everlues massive library. If Daybreak wasn't in here, then there was absolutely no way that we were going to find it. Natsu looked like his head was going to explode just by being around his many books.   
"Who would've thought that Everlues a major book worm" Lucy commented.   
Without saying anything to the others, I walked around the room. Wren perched on my shoulder as I looked over the bindings of each book. But so far, all I saw were books on how to become rich and how to rule. There were even books about certain deformities. This was going to take forever.   
"Check out this one" Natsu called our, pulling a book from the shelf. "It's sparkly!"  
Annoyed, Lucy turned to face the pink-haired dragon slayer. "Hey, would you get serious and start looking for the book we need?"  
Looking at the book Natsu held in his hand, I gasped. "Lu, that's it!"  
"It's Daybreak!" Wren cheered.   
"Have we been here that long?" Happy asked. And without even looking, I knew that Wren had slapped his paw against his forehead. My fluffy white friend obviously having enough of Happy for the moment.   
"You found it!" Lucy gasped as well.   
Natsu seemed to be as surprised as the rest of us. "I did?" he commented.   
"Two million jewel here we come!" Lucy squealed.   
"Let's spark it up!" Natsu grinned, lighting his hand on fire.   
"That was so easy" Happy giggled.  
"Hold on a second" Lucy gasped in excitement. Nearly taking Natsu's hand off when she snagged the book from him.  
"What's up Lu?"  
"I didn't realize this was written by Kemu Zaleon," she said. I gave her a blank look in return. Lucy was a major book nerd. At first, she was okay with burning the book, because for all she knew it was written by some nobody. But know we knew that Daybreak was actually written by one of my sisters' favorite authors. She's read literally every single book Kemu Zaleon had ever written.   
Except, apparently, this one.  
Natsu, unsurprisingly, seemed confused. "Zale....what?" he asked.  
"Zaleon was a great wizard" I explained. I had heard about him enough from Lucy.   
"And an amazing novelist" Lucy gushed. "I'm such a big fan. I was totally positive that I'd read every single sentence he'd ever written. But this must be an unpublished novel."  
"Oh, yea, who cares?" Natsu asked, igniting his fingertip. "It all burns the same to me."  
Instantly, Lucy went on the defensive. "Don't you dare touch it" she hissed at the boy. "This is a great work of literature. You better stay away from it, Pyro!"  
"But what about our mission?" Wren asked.  
"Just forget about the stupid mission!" Lucy snapped, Wren's blue eyes widening. Lucy hadn't ever really yelled at him before. Though he seemed to understand why my sister had yelled.   
"Failure is not an option," Happy told her.   
"They're right, Lu" I nodded. "We were hired for a job. And it's our first real one with Fairy Tail. I really don't want to screw it up because of your book fetish" I told her. Sure I liked to read as much as Lucy did, but I wasn't prepared to throw away almost two million jewel because of a book we were hired to destroy.  
"Come on you guys" Lucy pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Let's just say we burned it. I'll keep it a secret, I swear!"  
"I'm not a liar," Natsu told her. Happy giving a firm 'Aye'.  
"We can't lie, Lucy" I shook my head.   
There was a slight standoff between us. None of us budging from our standpoints. Though really it was me and Natsu trying to convince my sister to let go of the book so that we could actually do our job. While all my sister wanted to do was read the stupid book. I guess I couldn't blame her, really. It was a rare find from her favorite author.   
Suddenly, our standoff was interrupted by a slimy sounding voice. "Well, well, what do you have here?" The next thing we knew, Everlue was springing up from the floor once again. "So you thieves are looking to pilfer 'Daybreak' from me, are you?" the tiny man asked rhetorically.   
"See, slowpoke, this is all your fault," Natsu said to my sister, pointing towards the creepy little Duke.   
"Um...sorry about that" Lucy gulped.  
"You know" I commented, looking at the grotesque man. "I'm pretty sure it'd be way easier to come in through the door," I said, glancing down at the large hole Everlue had made in the ornate floor of his library.  
Everlue simply sneered and ignored my comment. "I knew all you lowlife wizard types were coming around here to take something of mine. I never would have guessed it was that stupid book."  
We were all quiet for a moment. Before Lucy hugged Daybreak to her chest with a hopeful grin. "This works out great," she said happily. "If it's so stupid, I guess it's fine if I keep it" my sister suggested.   
"It's mine!" Everlue raged. Throwing a tantrum to rival a three-year-olds. "You can't have it! So get your grubby hands off!"  
"Greedy fuck" I mumbled, though Everlue still heard me.  
"Shut your trap, ugly!" he returned. I couldn't stop the affronted gasp that sprung from my lips.   
"Rude" I huffed.  
Annoyed, Natsu lit a flame in the palm of his hand. "Would you hand over that book and let me get this over with?" hed asked my sister.   
"No way I'm not giving it to you!" whined Lucy. If she held that book any closer, it would fuse to her anatomy.   
"Lucy, this is our job!" reminded the pink-haired dragon slayer.   
All of us gaped at my sister when she dropped to the floor and cracked out the book. "Well, at least let me read it first."  
"I've had enough," Everlue growled once the shock wore off. "How dare you put your filthy hands on my possessions. Now, come forth, Vanish Brothers!" he called out.   
At his beckoning, the bookcase slid open to reveal two men. The smaller of the two had a mostly shaved head. Though still had a fairly long black braid running down his back. His facial features were sharp with slanted eyes and a dark-colored upper lip. The most noticeable of his features, however, was the distinctive kanji tattoo on his face, though I couldn't quite make out what the words were.   
Behind him stood a much taller man. Standing at almost twice the height and bulging with muscles. His hair was long, dark, and curly though arranged in a distinct style consisting of four large tufts jutting upwards in all directions. Unlike the shorter man, the taller's face was more squared with a prominent, slightly hooked nose and dark eyes peeking out from underneath a yellow bandanna.   
"You called upon us, sir?" spoke the shorter.   
"Can you believe that these little punks are from the Fairy Tail guild?" the taller man asked rhetorically. "Talk about a bunch of runts."  
Looking at the symbols on the clothes I gasped. "That sign means that they're from the Southern Wolves Guild," I said quietly to the others. "They're mercenaries."  
"So you got bodyguards, do you?" Natsu smirked with a crack of his knuckles.   
"Boyoyoyo" snickered Everlue. "The Southern Wolves are always hungry for fresh game. Say your prayers, thieves" he told us.   
"Hey" Lucy whispered to us, standing the book clutched to her chest once more. "Can you guys try and hold them off for a while?" she asked.   
"What up, Lu?" I asked her, though my eyes stayed on Everlue and his Southern Wolves.   
"I'm not sure," she told me. "But I think this book holds some kind of secret."  
"Right" Natsu nodded. And with that, my sister ran from the room. I hope she knew what she was doing.   
Suddenly, the floor beneath Everlue's feet began to shake as he used his own magic to sink. I think that was called Diver Magic. "I'm going after that girl," he told the two mercenaries. "Make sure pink hair and the ugly trollop don't leave here in one piece."  
"Rude!" I shouted as the two Southern Wolves gave Everlue their word.   
"Happy, go on and help Lucy," Natsu told the little blue cat.  
"You go on with him, Wren. I don't want you getting hurt" I said to my own cat companion.   
"Are you sure you don't need us here?" Happy asked.  
"No" Natsu responded confidently. "Thanks, but I think Selina and I will be just fine."  
"Woah, you sure are talking big for such a little guy," said the taller of the two mercenaries. "Can that little girl even fight?"  
"Perhaps we should put him in his place" suggested the shorter man. "So you're a fire wizard" the shorter man commented.   
"Yea" Natsu confirmed. "But how'd you know that?"  
"We saw the fire around your legs when you were fighting Virgo," the big one told him. "So it's obvious that you're an ability-type fire wizard. And I'm just gonna assume that the girl is just your little cheerleader."  
At the jab, I glared at the larger man. I could feel my magic bubbling below the surface, waiting to lash out at the men. It would serve them right for misjudging my power. But instead, I waited for Natsu's lead, he was more experienced when it came to this stuff. Other than the fight with the fire wizard Bora and the Vulcan that had possessed Macao, I hadn't really had much experience fighting.   
"So I guess you know what happened when you play with fire," Natsu told them, raising his arms as he called forth his dragon flames. "You get burned!"  
Just as Natsu tried to land a fiery punch on the smaller of the two mercenaries, the man blocked it with the large frying pan he had strapped to his back. "I'm sorry to break it to you, kid, but fighting fire wizards is something we do well, " he said, before swinging the frying pan, sending Natsu flying backward. "Very well."  
"Oh, yea?" I smirked. "What about water wizards?" With that, I pooled my magic around my legs and readied my Rapids Kick spell. Using the water to block the larger man when he went to attack Natsu. Giving my friend the opportunity to roll out of the way. Only for the shorter of the Southern Wolves to swing his frying pan and once again sent Natsu flying.  
I should have been paying more attention to the man I had kicked, because the next thing I knew, he was gripping me by the head. Dragging me out of the library through the now broken door, before throwing me over the railing. Sending my flying into Natsu, who had been standing on the tongue of one of Everlue's statues. "You okay?" my friend asked.  
I simply nodded, my glare never leaving the two mercenaries. "Yea, I'm good."  
"Fairy Tail may be a big-time guild and all but you pathetic wizards are no match for trained mercenaries like us" the taller man told us.   
"If that's your best then you're dead wrong" Natsu scoffed as he glanced my way. All of my instincts told me to attack these mercenaries, but I knew that Natsu and I needed to be smart about this. So, since he had been doing this much longer than me, I waited once more for Natsu's cue.  
"I mean, seriously, that kick was weak" I taunted, referencing the large man's leg drop that I had blocked. It was actually fairly powerful, but the Rapids Kick was stronger by far.   
"Whoa these kids really think they can beat us" the taller man seemed surprised.   
"Do you happen to know a wizard's greatest weakness?" asked the man with writing on his face.   
"You talking about motion sickness?!" Natsu gasped, causing me to groan.  
"I think that's just us, Natsu" I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Trying to calm the magic power that urged to lash out at our opponents.   
Ignoring his companions' comment, the tattooed man readied for attack. "Their weakness is their bodies," he said, jumping into action. Natsu and I jumping out of the way in time, just as the mercenary hit the statue's tongue with his large frying pan. "Since wizards have to focus so intensely on honing their mental abilities..." he trailed.   
Allowing for his friend to come in and try to hit Natsu with a powerful punch. One that Natsu was almost unable to dodge. "They neglect to train their bodies," the man said, "Which leaves them physically weak."  
In my case, this was almost true. I had some physical training from my foster mother, but after I had been adopted by Layla I had all but stopped that training. I could still hold my own in a low-level fight, but I still needed a lot more work.   
Even so, I was able to block the kick that the large mercenary sent at me. It was as if he was trying to get back at me for the crack I had made about his weak kicks. And without using any magic power, I locked my legs around his. Turning the block into a reversal as I used what core strength I had to whip the man across the room. Though it wasn't enough to knock him out of the fight, that was for sure. Still, it bought Natsu and I some time.   
"On the other hand" Tattoo Face started as his friend came to stand beside him. "We focus on our physical abilities."  
"So we have more power and speed than you."  
"Oh, I am so scared" Natsu sassed. These men didn't know the strength that Natsu had. They didn't know that he wasn't just any fire wizard, he was the Fire Dragon Slayer with magic strong enough to take out an actual dragon.   
They had no idea.   
"I'm quaking in my designer boots" I scoffed, playing it off like I wasn't in way over my head. I knew that I could hold my own magic wise, but I did need a lot of help with the hand-to-hand combat side of things.   
"No how about you stop your blabbing and let's dance" Natsu taunted.   
The two mercenaries shared a look. "Hey, bro', combo attack?" suggested the taller.   
"Sounds good" smirked Tattoo Face as he swung his large frying pan out in front of him. Allowing for the taller Southern Wolf to stand inside of it. "Heaven and Earth Annihilation!" they spoke at the same time.   
When Natsu goaded them once more, I took a few steps back before readying for an attack. Since I still needed more combat training, I would need to take on a defensive role. And only attack when necessary.   
I gasped when the mercenaries leaped into action. Barely registering the larger of the two Southern Wolves being launched into the air, while Natsu couldn't take his eyes off of him. "Look towards heaven and I strike from the earth" Tattoo Man told us. Swinging his frying pan and sending Natsu flying. My friend barely catching himself before sending a glare at the tattooed Vanish Brother.   
I noticed the spikey-haired one then, falling down from the ceiling to attack Natsu. "Look towards earth and we strike down from heaven" the mercenary spoke. I tried to run towards Natsu, and try to deflect the man's attack, but wasn't quick enough as Natsu was pounded into the wooden floor.   
"Natsu!" I called out. Running over to the pink-haired fire wizard as he got to his feet, though the Vanish Brothers didn't seem to notice through the dust cloud they had kicked up. "You okay?" I asked.   
"Yea" he nodded. "I've taken worse hits back at the guildhall."   
"You have witnessed the true power of the Vanish Brothers" spoke Tattoo Face. "The Heaven and Earth annihilation technique."  
"It's a force that very few are able to survive" Spikey Hair added.   
"Guess I'm one of the few" Natsu smirked as the dust settled. "Sorry, guys" he shrugged. The Vanish Brothers were shocked. Obviously not used to seeing someone walk away from their technique. "Are you with me, Selina?" Natsu asked with a smirk. With a nod, I let my magic bubble to the surface as Natsu and I drew our magic circled of fiery red and sparkling blue. **_"Fire Dragon: Roar!_** "   
However, before I could sound of a Roar of my own, the shorter of the two brothers simply held out his frying pan with a confident smirk. "Flame cooking!" he cast and the frying pan absorbed Natsu's fire attack. "You see my frying pan absorbs your flames and doubles their strength...." at his words, I prepared myself. Ready to raise a protective barrier in an instant. I knew what was going to happen next, and I knew that Natsu would be fine.   
But I wanted to be covered Just incase Natsu couldn't eat all of the flames. **_"Water Dragon: Water Sphere!_** " I cast, a bubble of water surrounding me just as a blast of fire was sent our way. Beside me, I could hear Natsu slurping up the flames, though all I could see was a bright red light.   
And when the flames cleared, the Vanished brothers let out twin screams of horror. "Oh, yea. Now I got some fire in my belly" Natsu smirked. "Together?" he asked me. Grinning, I did nothing but nod as my gaze was stuck on the already frightened mercenaries. "Let us show you something."  
Though normally I would have waited for Natsu to strike first, I wanted to get back at the men for their earlier comments about me simply being Natsu's cheerleader. So I hit my fists together, drawing my magic circle before crossing my arms. **_"Water Dragon: Wing Attack!_** " I cast, swinging my arms out and sending scythe-like blades of water at our opponents. The blast of my attack was enough to topple the Vanish brothers, but they could still fight.   
Until Natsu drew a magic circle of his own. **_"Fire Dragon: Wing Attack!"_** he called. Cross streams of fire powerful enough to blow up the room we were in. Leaving the Vanish Brothers char-broiled on the ground."Uh-Oh," Natsu winced. "Did I overdo it again?"  
"Maybe just a little bit" I winced as I looked at the destruction that surrounded us. "But I think they learned their lesson. C'mon, let's go make sure Lucy and the cats are okay."


	4. Dear Kaby

"Come on, let's go make sure that Lucy and the cats are okay," I told Natsu simply nodded as he looked back over at the two fallen mercenary wizards. 

"Yea, these merchant fairies are toast," he said, causing me to groan. Really?

"They're _mercenaries_ , Nastu," I told him. 

"Yea that's what I said."

I didn't bother saying anything back I turned to walk through the obliterated door. Only to be stopped the sound of movement from behind us. Turning, I saw Virgo begin to stand. Before I could say anything, Natsu instantly jumped on her. "What the hell!" I shouted when Virgo began to glow. Without even thinking, I grabbed on to Natsu legs. The next thing I knew, there was a familiar tingle that ran down my spine. As if I had experienced something like this before. 

When the blinding white light finally disappeared, I let out a shocked gasp. We weren't even in the house anymore. Somehow we had transported to what looked like the sewer. My nose instantly wrinkling at the foul smell that surrounded us. 

"Natsu! Selina!" Lucy, Happy, and Wren all exclaimed. Our friends shocked to see me and Natsu all but appeared out of thin air. 

"Yea?" Natsu responded as I let go of him and launched my self off of Virgo and over to Lucy. 

"Why do you smell like that?" I asked Happy.

"He went swimming" Wren chuckled, jumping up to hang off of my shoulder. 

"Well, that's gross," I said.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Everlue shouted, looking back and forth between where I stood with Lucy and where Natsu was with Virgo. 

"What are you doing up there?" Lucy asked. "How are you guys here right now!?"

"Well...Selina and I saw her getting up so I jumped on her" Natsu answered. 

"And I grabbed on to him before they disappeared" I added. "And then all of a sudden we're here with you guys."

Lucy's eyes went wide. "So you grabbed a hold of her _inside_ the house?" she asked. "But that means....you guys must have passed through the Spirit Gate with her...That's impossible!!!" my sister shrieked. 

She was right, of course. Humans normally couldn't survive the pressure or something of the Spirit World. I didn't know the details, I just knew that it wasn't possible for humans to pass through the Gate. According to the little bit I knew about Lucy's type of magic, Natsu and I shouldn't even be alive right now. 

"Guys, what the heck do I do now?" Natsu asked as he bounced around on Virgo's back, trying to avoid her large hands. 

"Come on, let's finish what we started!" I told Natsu, stepping forward while Everlue commanded Virgo to attack. Nodding, Natsu jumped from Virgo's broad shoulder and landed next to me. 

"Now I'm fired up" Natsu smirked as we once again drew our magic circles. _**"Fire Dragon: Roar!"**_

_**"Water Dragon: Roar!"** _

Water and fire spiraled around each other as they went to meet our target. And when Virgo went flying, once more knocked out, Lucy un-hooked her whip from her belt. With a flick of her wrist, the whip cracked and was wrapped about Everlue's pudgy little body in an instant. 

"Can't dig yourself outta this!" Lucy shouted as she began to pull on the whip. "You make me sick!" and with a mighty tug, Lucy sent the dirty little mole man flying. Allowing for her Celestial Spirit, Cancer, to attack. "You're just another greedy villain," she said. A moment later, Everlue came crashing to the ground with a sparkling bald head. Cancer having cut off the small tuft of hair on top of the pudgy little mans' head. 

"Does this look fabulous or what, baby?" the Crab spirit commented. 

"Oh yea, way to go, Crab-man....b-baby" Natsu stammered. 

Our reprieve was short-lived however when the sewer tunnel we found ourselves in began to shake and rumble. Looking around, I noticed all of the holes in the cement. Everlue's diver magic ruining the sewers' integrity and causing it, and the mansion above, to start to crumble and collapse in on itself. The five of us were lucky to be able to escape in time. 

"I like you guys' style, out with a bang" Natsu grinned as we watched the ornate mansion sink into the ground. "You guys are definitely gonna fit in at Fairy Tail."

According to Sorcerer's Weekly, Natsu wasn't wrong. Fairy Tail was known for going overboard and destroying as much as they saved. Judging by what had happened when we first met Natsu and Happy, I wasn't all that surprised that we had caused so much destruction on this job. 

"But aren't we supposed to not destroy stuff?" Wren asked from my shoulder, his ear twitching slightly inside of the light blue beanie he had chosen to wear. He hadn't been wearing that earlier when we started the mission. Though I suppose he had put it in the small pouch he wore on his back that looked much like Happys. It was easy to forget about the make-shift backpack when it was hidden by the scarf that the little white cat wore. 

"I hope we don't get blamed for this" Lucy whined. 

In the dust created by the rubble, I could see the silhouette of Virgo. Her large hand holding Everlue like a rag doll. We didn't bother sticking around after that. Knowing that we would have gotten into a lot of trouble if we did. 

* * *

"When I read Daybreak, I couldn't believe that it was written by Kemu Zaleon," Lucy told us as we approached Kaby Melons mansion that still didn't smell like the Melon family. "There's no way he would have done something that bad."

"Yea, so?" commented Natsu, sitting down as he listened to my sister talk.

"So that's how I knew that there must be a spell on it" Lucy shrugged, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. 

And then we waited as Mr. Melon and his wife to join us. Lucy sat on the couch while Natsu and I stood behind her, with Happy and Wren on our shoulders. 

Nervously, I nibbled on the side of my thumb. My foot tapping impatiently. I really hope that whatever Lucy had found in that book was worth risking not getting paid. The best-case scenario was Kaby being so moved by whatever Kemu Zaleon wrote that he gave us the 2 million jewel reward even though we didn't burn the book. Worst case.... we don't get paid. 

While having that reward money would be awesome, I knew that we could always just take another job. 

When Kaby finally joined us in the large living room, Lucy stood from her spot on the couch. Daybreak clutched in her hands. I knew that my sister was nervous. No doubt she had the same thoughts I had rushing through her mind. Though I know that she worried about the money more than I did. 

Deep down I knew that Lucy wanted to prove that she could live and thrive without our... _her_ family's name. 

"But I requested this book be destroyed" Kaby stated in surprise when Lucy handed the book to the older man. I was actually finding myself to be fairly curious about what was in that book. But Lucy knowing was good enough for me...For now. "Why on earth are you handing it back to me completely unscathed?" Kaby asked. I could see his fingers shaking as he lowered himself down on the couch. 

"If you really wat to burn it then I'd rather you do it yourself," Lucy told him calmly, though I could hear the slight shake in her voice as she tried to rein in her emotions.

"I most certainly will burn this trash" Kaby confirmed, pain filling his face as he looked at the books cover. "I never wanted to see it again."

"I completely understand why you feel the way you do about this book, Kaby" my sister spoke. Honestly, I thank her upbringing for how poised she was right now. Even though I was raised in the same home, Lucy was still better at this sort of thing. Plus she was the only one that knew the big bad secret. "You want to protect your father's legacy because you're actually Zaleons son, aren't you?" 

My jaw dropped at Lucy's words. Happy, Natsu and Wren were all equally surprised. That was definitely not what I thought she was going to say. 

"Yes, that's true" Kaby confirmed, though he hung his head low. As if ashamed. 

"Have you read it yourself?" Lucy asked the man. 

"No" Kaby denied with a small shake of his head. "I--I could never bring myself to do it," he told us. "My father told me it was garbage."

"You were just gonna burn it?!" Natsu exclaimed, taking a small step forward. 

"I was."

Before Lucy or I could stop him, Natsu was in the other man's face and gripping him up by the tie. "Without even bothering to see what's inside?" he asked. "It's the last book that your dad wrote, right? Some of us would kill for that kind of memory."

I understood where Natsu was coming from. And I knew that Lucy could as well. All three of us have lost our beloved parents. "That enough Natsu!" I finally spoke, pulling him back by his scarf while Lucy held an arm out to keep him back. "Let Kaby explain himself." 

When it seemed like Natsu had calmed, Kaby let out a sigh riddling with shaking emotion. "Please" he whispered. "That book caused my family great heartache and shame," the older man told us. 

And then he told us all about what had the atrocity that had come to their family. How his father had disappeared for three years without any word. How worried Kaby and his mother had been. Only to sever his own arms when he finally returned home. A brutal attempt to stop himself from writing ever again.   
Kaby told us how when his father lay motionless in the hospital, all Kaby could say to his father was 'I told you so'. Having tried to stop his father from working for Duke Everlue. Which, in retrospect, was a very good call. 

His father had called the book rubbish. But still stated that he had been glad that it was finished, with a smile on his face. Kaby told us that he didn't know why his father had been smiling that day. 

And I could tell that Kaby deeply regretted the words he had said to his father that day. His father passed away a few months after that. Though Kaby's feelings of betrayal remained long after. 

"But as the years passed by me," Kaby continued, his wife standing beside him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The anger slowly turned into remorse. And now...it's too late for me to ask for his forgiveness. So I decided to make amends by destroying the final work that had caused him so much unhappiness, this is the only way...The only way I can preserve his legacy." Natsu had turned his back as Kaby spoke. Not being able to understand the way that the older man felt. To be honest, neither did I. But it was his choice. "I'm sure this is what he'd want," Kaby said with a strike of a match.

"No, you're wrong" Lucy shook her head. Suddenly, the match in Kaby's hand went out. And the book under his arm began to grow. Causing all of us except Lucy to gasp in shock. "Kaby, look!" she demanded. With wide eyes, I watched as silver magic circle erupted above the book. When it settled, the letters on the front cover of the book began to rearrange themselves. 

"My sister said that a spell has been cast on this book," I told him. 

"Its the work of the wizard Kemu Zaleon," Lucy nodded. "Or should I say Zekua Melon?"

"A spell?" Gasped Kaby. Shocked as the title 'Daybreak' reformed itself to finally spell..."Dear Kaby" the man read in awe. 

"That right" my sister grinned warmly. "This book is his letter to you. Disguised behind a spell that rearranged all of the words...So no one else could read it." I gasped as light exploded from the already glowing book. Strings of letters streaming around the room. 

"Wow," I breathed.

"Pretty" Wren cooed from my shoulder.

"He didn't stop writing because he was ashamed. He stopped because he had finished his masterpiece, a novel containing everything he ever wanted to say to his beloved son. And when you read it the way he intended, it's easily his best work ever."

"I thought about you the entire time I was gone" Kaby whispered as he watched the letters swirl about the room. His eyes filled with tears. 

"And now that the spells been broken, you can read it for yourself" I smiled softly. 

"Thank you father" Kaby whispered, holding the book to his chest. "I swear that I will never let any harm come to this book" the man vowed. 

Suddenly, Natsu turned to face Lucy and I. Scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess we won't be collecting that reward" he chuckled. 

"Aye," Happy agreed. Lucy looked at the two of them in shock. 

"We were supposed to destroy the book" I chuckled. "Even though it's a good thing, we technically didn't finish the job."

"Even so, let me do something" Kaby offered. 

"Yea it's not our fault he decided not to burn the book after we got it back for him!" Lucy exclaimed. 

"Lucy, don't be so greedy" Happy scolded, causing Wren to nod from my shoulder. "You're totally ruining what _was_ a touching moment."

"I need the cash!!" my sister shouted, causing the little blue cat to scoff in return.

"Thanks for offering, but we don't want it" Naysu waved off as he began walking towards the door. 

"Um, yes we do. Selina and I need to pay rent!" Lucy told him. 

But Natsu ignored her. "I think it's time we all go home" he grinned over his shoulder. "That means you too, Mr. Melon. Go back home."

It was then that we learned that even if we had accepted the reward, the Kaby Melon wouldn't have been able to pay us, anyways. He and his family were dead broke. The mansion we had met them in was simply a rental, a ploy to make everyone think that they were rich. 

But Natsu was right. If we had taken the money, it would have looked bad and we had more than just us to worry about. We had a whole guild whose entire reputation depended on its members conducting themselves while out on a job. 

Though one good thing came out of not getting paid. We didn't have to ride the train or anything. So no motion sickness. Both Natsu and I were rejoicing over that fact. Lucy, however, was not happy with the fact that we had to walk all the way back to Magnolia. 

As we set up camp for the night, Lucy and Happy bantered back and forth. My sister claiming that we would have taken the job regardless of the rewards, while Happy simply snickered behind his hand and said "Sure greedy."

Dinner than night consisted of fish and some other kind of lizard that Natsu had caught. "By the way, the house" Lucy started as we sat around the fire Natsu had built. "How'd you two know that it wasn't really theirs?" 

Sharing a look, Natsu and I simply shrugged. "Oh that was easy" the fire-breather spoke through a mouthful of food. "'Cause they smelled like some other house."

"And that house smelled like other people" I agreed. 

Natsu nodded. "Seemed pretty obvious."

"Aye" Happy agreed., though Wren simply shrugged as he nibbled on a piece of fish. 

"Sure, to you animals, maybe" Lucy rolled her eyes. "Not me, I was still lost in the clouds from reading that book."

"I've got you figured out" Natsu smirked, swallowing down a chunk of fish. Before going in for another bite. "All those papers I found on the desk at you guys' place. She's writing a novel, isn't she Selina?" he asked me. 

"Why are you asking me!" I squeaked. 

"Ooh, so that's why she's such a bookworm" Happy realized. 

Lucy blushed at the question, knowing that she was caught. "Promise you won't tell anybody about that okay?" she pleaded. 

"Why not?" Wren asked.

"'Cause I'm a _horrible_ writer" my sister all but sobbed, hiding her beet-red face in her hands. "If anybody read my stuff, I'd die of embarrassment."

"I haven't even read her work yet," I said through another mouthful of fish. 

"Don't worry, nobody's gonna read it" Natsu tried to reassure her. 

"Yea, that doesn't make me feel any better" Lucy grumbled. 

We finished the rest of our food in peace. Settling in for the night, Natsu and I taking turns making sure that the fire was lit and that we didn't get attacked by some wild animal in the middle of the night. 

* * *

We spent most of the following day wandering about the forest. Until we found ourselves wandering through the swamp. While I was calmed by the murky water, Lucy curled herself inside of Horologium to keep herself dry. 

My sister was also convinced that we were lost. And I had to say that I was starting to agree with her. I don't know why we were taking directions from Happy. 

But even when we finally made it out of the swamp, Lucy stayed inside of the Clock Constellation. "Why don't you do your own walking for a while?" Natsu suggested as we walked down the sunlit dirt road. 

"' _Because I'm tired_ ' she groans exhaustedly" the clock translated. 

Without a word, I stopped short. There was someone nearby. I recognized the scent, but I couldn't quite place where I had smelled it before. All I knew was that the scent wasn't one belonging to an enemy and that it made me feel.......something. Safe, almost. 

However, Natsu seemed to recognize the scent right away. And though he asked a quick "Who's there?" he jumped right and an attack anyways. I knew that he could tell that the newcomer wasn't a threat, yet he was attacking anyway?

"' _Do you always have to fight?_ ' she inquires worriedly," Lucy spoke through Horologium. 

"You can take him Natsu!" Happy cheered from Horologium's hand while Wren still sat on my shoulder. 

"I believe in you!" called the little white cat.

A moment later, Natsu and his opponent jumped out from behind the bushes. And it wasn't hard to recognize Gray Fullbuster from the guild. That explains why he smelled familiar. He had asked my sister to borrow her underwear when we first met. From what I've heard, Gray was notorious for misplacing his clothes and the rest of the guild was always pointing out that he had stripped without even realizing it. So I wasn't surprised that he was wearing nothing but his dark-colored boxers right now. 

"' _What's he doing in his underwear?!'_ the lady questions" spoke Horologium.

"Trying to find a bathroom," the dark-haired wizard told my sister as he squared off against Natsu.

"Why would you strip down _before_ you found one?" Natsu asked. "And who the heck ever heard of a bathroom in the middle of the forest?"

"I wanted some privacy" Gray answered. "I didn't expect an idiot to barge in."

"Seriously, you guys?" I groaned. 

"They're so childish" Lucy commented as the boys stared each other down. Horologium having disappeared back to the spirit world. 

Rolling my eyes, I started wandering away from the boys. Figuring that I'd try and find all of Gray's clothes. That way when he was done with the pissing contest he was having with Natsu, he wouldn't have to get lost trying to find his clothes. Meaning the less time he would be naked. 

Though I did find myself shamelessly admiring the sculpted torso he had. 

* * *

"So you're on your way back from a job?" I asked, handing Gray his shirt. Having found all of his clothes, and barely suppressing a pout when he buttoned up the white top. 

"Yea" he answered, taking a seat beside me and Lucy. While Natsu glared at our fellow guild member. "Yea, there's a shortcut through these woods that'll get you back to town in no time."

"See, I told you so!" Happy commented from his spot looking over the peak. Both he and Wren sitting with large fishing poles between their paws. 

"Yea, well, if your nose is so great, then how come you didn't know Gray was right in front of us, smart guy"? Lucy asked, glaring at Happy.

"There's some things you don't want to smell" was Happy's answer, causing Gray to let out a scoff of indignation. 

"What'd you say?" he grunted. 

"I agree" Natsu jeered. "So go on home and we'll smell you later" the fire dragon slayer smirked. 

"Fine, I will," Gray said as he stood. "And unless you want trouble, you should too." 

"Why do you say that?" I asked, sitting up a little. I knew that his warning wasn't meant as a threat to Natsu.

But served more as a warning for all of us.

"'Cause Erza's due back any time now," Gray told me. 

I didn't know Erza, of course. She'd been out on a job when Lucy and I arrived at Fairy Tail. But I had read stories and articles about her in Sorcerer Weekly. She was one of Fairy Tail's most powerful wizards. So powerful, in fact, that the tabloids called her ' _Titania Erza, Queen of the Fairies_.' 

And while Lucy gushed about wanting to meet her, both Natsu and Gray looked scared to death. As if there was something about Erza that the tabloids left out. It wouldn't surprise me if she had pummeled Natsu at some point. He seemed to have that kind of personality. 

Suddenly I realized...there was never even a picture of her posted in the magazine. Lucy and I had no clue what this woman even looked like. 

"What's she like?" Lucy asked the boys. 

And all three had one answer. "Scary" they all shivered before listing off different adjectives for the Queen of the Fairies. Before talking about her being scary enough to kick down mountains. 

"You know guys, even if she's able to kick down a single mountain, that's still scary," Lucy told them.

"Like I said, we should get back," Gray told us.

"Crap, let's get moving!" Natsu stammered. Jumping to his feet. 

There was a scent on the wind then. But I don't think Natsu caught it. With wide eyes, I looked towards to the peak. There was someone there. But before I could say anything, the peak exploded and turned to sand. Instantly, we were all swept under the sand. 

"What now?" Gray asked when the sand finally stopped moving.

"Happy!?" Natsu called out when he couldn't his little blue buddy. Worried, I looked around for Wren. Sighing when I saw my own little buddy huddled against Gray's leg. 

We looked around for Happy for a moment before we heard a voice coming from where the explosion went off. Happy's voice, begging someone not to eat him. Claiming that he would taste weird.

Instantly we snapped to action and climbed the short peak. "Hold it right there!" Natsu demanded. 

"Happy!" Wren called out to his friend.

"Thank goodness" the little blue cat sobbed. "Now I'm not gonna taste weird."

"Pipe down" snapped one of his kidnappers. 

"That's our friend you're trying to roast, buddy" Natsu growled with a crack of his knuckles. 

"Sorry" I continued "But you jerks are gonna have to make other plans for dinner." 

"You're all wizards, aren't you?" Gray asked though it was really more of a statement. "What guild are you with?"

"I'm not telling" sneered the goblin-looking wizard. His skin a dark grayish color. His guild mark stationed on the left side of his head. Between his two pointed ears. "Get him!" he ordered. Causing his guildmates to jump into action.

"let's do this Gray" Natsu said confidently.

"Fine but don't go telling me what to do" came Gray's response.

Without another word, the two boys jumped into action. Attacking the dark wizards as they met in mid-air. While the goblin looking wizard, plunged his fist into the ground, drawing a magic circle. 

" ** _Sand Bomb_** , go" he cast. Using his magic to summon forth a large ball of sand. Trapping Natsu as the fire wizard went to attack. 

"Natsu!!" My sister called out.

"He'll be fine, Lu," I told her, grabbing her wrist. "Come on, let's go save Happy."

"Right" she nodded as we ran over to where one of our feline friends was being spit-roasted. 

While Lucy untied the rope, I rolled my eyes as Happy claimed that the blonde girl was going to eat him. And as she worked, I kept my guard up. Ready to defend my friends if one of these dark wizards attacked while Lucy was working on freeing Happy.

"Meat!" shrieked the chicken man as he walked over to us. Raising his flaming staff in the air. 

"Please don't kill us Mister Chicken" Lucy screamed, thankfully she had already freed Happy from being slow-roasted over an open flame.

"I don't think so, creepy" I sneered, drawing a magic circle before water swirled around my legs. " ** _Water Dragon: Rapids Kick!_** " I called, before hitting the chicken man with a blast of frigid water. Allowing for Lucy, Happy, and Wren to run away. 

"Nice one" Gray complimented. "Next?" he asked, looking for a new opponent. 

At that, one fo the dark wizards began to chant. The orb in his hands glowing with magic power. Curious I watched. Ready to bring up my water sphere to protect me and Gray from whatever this wizard threw at us. "You'll see someone special. She's even closer than you think" the dark wizard told Gray. "But the stars point to great trouble with water and women" he added before turning to me. "Your future is unclear. The stars shine too brightly for me to read" he said.

"Are you seriously reading our fortune right now?" Gray asked, irritated. Before clocking the dark wizard, knocking him out cold without using any magic. 

"Wow," I breathed. Only for my amazement to be ruined when Gray was once more standing in his boxers.

When the hell did that happen? "Gray, your clothes" I blushed. 

"Crap!"

Suddenly the ball of sand exploded, Natsu canceled the spell. Then complained about the sand in his mouth before attacking the goblin wizard with his Fire Dragon Iron Fist spell. And with that last attack, we had all of the dark wizards tied to a nearby tree. 

"Don't you think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" Gray asked, still wearing nothing but his boxers. 

"So what if I did? I got the job done" said the pink-haired fire wizard. 

"Grow up, already," Gray told him. "You're an embarrassment to the guild."

Rolling my eyes, I wandered back to where Gray and I had confronted the future-telling wizard and tried to find my guild-mates clothes. While Lucy knelt in front of the captive wizards. 

"Lulla" I heard one of them whisper. If it weren't for my dragon slayer hearing, then I wouldn't have caught it. "Lulla...by...is..." the goblin choked out. This time loud enough for all of us to hear. But before enough more could be said, a giant hand or something knocked us out of the way before ...... before pulling the entire freaking tree that the dark wizards were tied to into the ground. 

"What the hell was that?" 


	5. The Wizard In Armor

**5\. The Wizard In Armor**

  
We didn't stick around for long after that. Both Gray and Natsu freaking out over the return of Erza. Lucy and I sort of were too, but more so because she was one of the most popular wizards in all of Fairy Tail and we were both looking forward to finally meeting her. The boys shook in fear the entire way back to the guild. 

This time, we didn't follow Happy's nose. 

Taking the path that Gray had told us about, we were back in Magnolia before we knew it. Just as Gray had said. And since it was still early, Lucy and I were able to head back home and take a quick bath before heading back to the guildhall. Wren opting to go with Gray, Happy, and Natsu to get some fish. 

* * *

Sitting in the guildhall was a lot like being home. Or at least what I assumed a home should be. Lucy and I grew up in a house that was cold, that didn't offer much in parental affection, and left the both of us feeling quite lonely. Even though we had each other. Though there was a short time not too long after Layla died, that I did all I could to ignore Lucy. 

I tried not to think about that portion of my life.

Sipping the coffee Mira had given me, I looked around the hall. Everyone was eating and drinking. Chatting with their friends and decompressing from their days on the job. 

I couldn't help but laugh as Wakaba, a man I hadn't had a chance to really meet yet, tried flirting with Mirajane as she walked by with a tray of mugs. Only to be visually reminded of his wife when Mira used her transformation magic to make herself look like a woman I assumed was the older wizard's wife. 

"I hate it when you do that!" Wakaba exclaimed. "It's so creepy!"

"I wish I could drink in peace for once" Cana sighed nearby.

"Well, if you didn't drink all day..." Macao began to comment. Earning a mild glare from the alcoholic wizard.

Draining the rest of my coffee, I put the mug down on the table in front of me before "I guess we should probably try to find another job" Natsu grumbled from beside me. 

"Aye, we're running out of food money" Happy nodded briefly before going back to nibbling on his fish.

"If we'd taken that two million jewel reward, we'd be sittin' pretty" Lucy sighed from where she stood. "Selina, we can't forget that rents gonna be due next week," she told me. I just gave her a quiet 'mhmm' before reaching for the pot of coffee that Mirajane had left at the table for me. Pouring some in my mug before pouring some hot cocoa for Wren. Who seemed to have taken a liking to Gray. "I guess we'd better find work, too" she added, before wandering over to the job board. 

Leaving Wren at the table, I walked over to join her. Looking over the flyers posted on the board. There was one for finding a magic bracelet, which seemed doable. One for breaking a spell on a cursed cane, that one seemed a bit more tricky, but if we took that one then I'm sure that Grandpa Crux could help us figure it out. The one posted for reading someone's love horoscope seemed easy but didn't pay nearly enough jewel to cover our rent. 

Plus I think Lucy forgot that whatever reward we got, we would have to share it with Natsu and Happy. We were all a team, after all. If she took that volcano monster job, though, I really hoped she took Natsu with us. That looked way too difficult for us to handle right now. 

"I had no idea that wizarding jobs were so varied" my sister commented as she looked over all of the different job postings. 

"Well let me know if you find you that you're interested in taking one," Mirajane told us. "The masters away at a conference, so I'm covering for him."

"What kind of conference?" I asked.

"One for guild masters" Mirajane smiled. "Every once in a while, they all get together to talk about the state of things," she told us. "Like the Magic Council but not" giggled the bikini model. "Excuse me, Reedus?" Mirajane started, turning to face a large round man with tufts of curly, light orange hair. "Could I borrow a light pen?" she asked. 

"Oui" the man, Reedus, nodded before pulling the magical pen out of his pocket. Allowing Mira to write in the air in front of us. 

"The council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world. It's only one step below the government" she explained as she began to draw a diagram that had government at the top. With a single line connected to a box labeled 'Era'. "It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations" Mira continued. "And if a wizard breaks magical law, they would be tried by the council." With a smile, Mira drew three other boxes labeled 'Local Guild Master League'. Each one connected to three more smaller 'Guild' boxes. "Then there's the different guild master leagues, which are local groups who work together, then the individual masters. It's their job to pass on the decrees of the magic council. They also communicate with the other guild masters on a regular basis." Mira explained further. The entire thing sounded very stressful. 

"Wow, I never knew all of the magical guilds were interconnected like that" Lucy commented. 

"It's important that we cooperate with one another, otherwise our system would fall apart," Mirajane told us. 

Suddenly, Natsu appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "And then the guys in black would show up" Natsu cackled, effectively scaring my sister. "That was almost too easy!" the fire-breather laughed. 

"Are you _trying_ to scare me to death?" Lucy snapped. 

"But seriously," Mirajane interrupted. "The guys Natsu's talking about exist," she told us as she used the light pen once more and added 'Dark Guilds' onto the diagram she had drawn. "They're the dark guilds. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues. They're the bad apples and most of them are involved in magical crime." 

"Wow" Lucy breathed. 

"Would you just go on and pick us a job already?" Natsu grinned, trying to remind me and Lucy why we had been standing at the board in the first place. 

"You have _got_ to be kidding me" Lucy scoffed. "What makes you think that Selina or I would wanna do that?"

"Leave me out of it," I said, holding my hands up in surrender. 

"Well, we are a team now, aren't we?" Natsu asked my sister.

"Yea," Happy agreed as he and Wren walked over to us. Wren flying up to take his spot on my shoulder. "And we picked the job last time! It's your turn to pick, so get to it" demanded the little blue cat.

"Just forget it, cat" Lucy scoffed, crossing her over her chest. "As far as I'm concerned, _that_ team has been disbanded. And besides, you guys didn't actually want me or Selina, you just needed us last time because I'm a blonde, and my sister and I are a package deal."

"Don't be ridiculous" Natsu started. "That's not the only reason we chose you."

"Oh really?" I deadpanned. "And what's the other reason?"

Natsu simply grinned widely. "We picked you two because you're so nice."

Lucy simply glared at the boy's obviously bullshit response.

"Hey girls, I wouldn't stay with those losers if I were you. You'll get plenty offers from other teams" Gray spoke up from a nearby table. Once again wearing nothing more than his boxers. My eyes going wide and my cheeks burning at the sight. 

"Your clothes, Gray" Cana pointed out, not looking away from her beer tankard. 

"Jerk" I heard Natsu mutter under his breath. And Gray seemed to hear him as well, instantly getting in the dragon slayer's face. It seemed like these two had a type of rivalry going on. 

"Looks like they're at it again" Happy sighed as the two boys traded insults back and forth. Really lame insults, too.

Looking back at my sister, I shook my head at Loke's attempt at flirting. "Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" he asked, all but cornering my sister. "Later tonight, just the two of us?" he suggested. 

"Say what?" Lucy squeaked. Normally I would go and intervene, making sure that nothing bad happened to my sister, but I knew that I should have more faith in Lucy's ability to fend off rapey creepers. 

"You're just so stunningly gorgeous," Loke told my sister. "I have to keep my shades on when I look at you or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty" the womanizer was smooth, that was for sure. 

"Do girls really fall for this?" I finally chuckled, walking over to where my sister stood with the flirtatious wizard. Loke looked at me then, no doubt about to hit on me as well, only for his flirty grin to fall and his eyes to go wide with shock. 

"You..." he whispered. 

Why is he looking at me like he knows me?

"What about me?" I asked "And be forewarned, your skeevy flirts won't work on me" I smirked, slinging an arm around my sisters' shoulders. 

Loke recovered a second later, adjusting his glasses with a chuckle. However, just as he opened his mouth to say anything more, Loke's face washed over with something I could only describe as absolute terror. "You're not a celestial wizard are you!?" he asked in fright as he began to back away from Lucy.

With a fish in his mouth, Happy popped up. "Yea she's got cows and crabs and stuff" the cat answered. 

Loke ran away from Lucy then. Cursing fate and claiming that he and Lucy could never be together. "What's up with him?' I asked, sharing a look with Lucy before we both turned to Mira. She would know better than anyone.

"Loke has a bad history with Celestial Wizards" Mira explained. "Rumor has it he dated one and it didn't end up very well."

"Well, I'm not surprised he......" Lucy started, but she was instantly cut off by Natsu crashing into her as his argument with Gray finally came to blows. 

"That looked painful" commented Mirajane as I winced in sympathy. It really did look like it hurt. Poor Lucy, I knew that Natsu wasn't exactly light and my poor sister was squished between him and the floor of the guildhall.

"Would the two of you just knock it off already?" Lucy groaned from beneath Natsu. 

"Natsu started it" Gray shrugged. "I'm just following through."

"Where are your clothes?" asked Cana, barely moving the mug of beer from her face. 

Natsu got off of my sister then. Rolling my eyes, I helped Lucy off the ground, letting her dust herself off.

"You're the one who was provoking me" Natsu pointed out. "You dirty slimeball."

And once more they traded insults back and forth. Only this time they were even more lame than before. I had a feeling that their insults would just get lamer and lamer as time went on. 

The entirety of the guildhall was laughing and joking, That energy that made Fairy Tail home wrapping around us. And as I leaned against the bar, I couldn't help but laugh as well. All that was missing was a nice hot cup of coffee. Even Wren was giggling on a barstool beside Reedus, as the large Picto-Wizard sketched a picture of the little white cat with his mug of cocoa.

Suddenly the jovial laughter was cut short. As Loke came running back into the building. "I've got bad news!" he shouted fearfully, causing everyone to gasp. "It's Erza---" he breathed out roughly. "She's on her way here."

Everyone screamed. All of the wizards in the guildhall terrified of the wizard that Sorcerer Weekly labeled 'Titania Erza'. Queen of the Fairies. Even Natsu and Gray seemed to be terrified of Erza. 

"Wow just mention Erza and the whole place freaks out" Lucy commented. 

"Well, she is the strongest female wizard we've got in Fairy Tail," Mira chimed. "And more than a bit intimidating."

In the silence of the guildhall, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. Accompanied by the clanking of armor and a menacing shadow. 

"That's gotta be her" Laki murmured.

"Those sound like her footsteps" Wakaba agreed, and from where I stood I could see the pipe in his mouth quiver a little. 

"Even the air's gotten completely still" Macao added, his dark eyes trained on the doorway. 

"Jeez, from these reactions, you'd think she was some kind of demon or something" Lucy commented, her voice shaking with worry.

"I'm kinda scared" I shivered as I folded my arms tightly over my chest. 

The shadow in the doorway grew menacingly. From what I could tell from her silhouette, Erza seemed to be holding something very large above her head, making her seem just that much more ferocious. When she finally stepped into the light, I could see that the object she was carrying was a large bejeweled horn more than twice her size. Her red hair fell in waves down her back, the fringe covering most of her right eye. The armor she wore covering what I could tell was a slender and voluptuous figure. 

"I have returned" Erza's stern voice sounded. "Where is Master Makarov?" she asked. 

"Welcome back Erza" Mirajane smiled. "The Masters at a conference right now."

"I see" Erza nodded. 

"So, um... what's that humongous thing you got there?" asked a nearby guildmember. 

"It's the horn of a monster that I defeated," explained the armored wizard. "The locals were so thankful, they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir," she told us. "Do you have a problem with it?" asked Erza.

"No, not at all!" the men all but shrieked.

Not moving from the bar, I listened as Erza took charge. Telling those who were standing in the guildhall that she had heard all of the things that had happened while she had been working. Obviously disapproving of the trouble our guild had been causing lately. Not that I could really blame her, Fairy Tail seemed to be a pretty rowdy bunch. 

From what I've learned so far, Master Makarov seemed to be very lenient. At least when it came to the rambunctiousness of the guild. But Erza seemed to dislike just about everything that the guild did. She scolded them for everything from Cana's heavy drinking to Vijeeter's dancing. 

She even yelled at poor Nab, who was standing in front of the request board, trying to find a job. Though from what I understand, Nab was _always_ standing in front of the job board. He never seemed to go out on a job. Even though we hadn't been here for very long, I had figured out just about everyone's magic types. Except for Nab and Loke. 

Mostly because Nab never seemed to use his magic, and I tried to avoid Loke as much as possible. Which has been fairly easy so far, considering Lucy and I have been hanging out at our apartment and then we did the job for Kaby. 

Even I jumped when Erza snapped at Macao. I felt bad for the guy, especially when she said that she had almost given up on him. 

"She's really tearing into everyone" Lucy commented quietly. Loud enough for me and Mirajane to hear. 

"It's kinda like she's taking over" I added, my voice barely above a whisper. Quiet enough that Erza and the others couldn't but still loud enough for Lucy and Mira. 

"That's Erza for ya," Happy told us.

"Even if she is kinda bossy," Lucy started, "She's still saner than anyone else here. I don't understand why everyone's so afraid of her."

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza asked. 

"Aye" Happy nodded, pointing over to the boys. They had been at each other's throats just minutes ago, now that had their arms slung around each other. Acting as if they weren't just trying to kill each other. 

"O-Oh, hey there, Erza" Gray stammered as he and Natsu shook with fear. "W-we're just hanging out l-like good friends tend to do."

"Aye!" Natsu added. 

"Why is Natsu talking like Happy?" I asked, barely able to contain the chuckle. 

"That's great," Erza nodded. "I'm quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well," she said. It was as if she didn't see the fear radiating off of them in waves. "However" the red-haired wizard continued. "It's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and again."

"I-I don't know if we're the _best_ of friends," Gray said in an attempt to correct Erza. 

"Aye..." Natsu whimpered in agreement.

"What's gotten into Natsu?!" asked my sister. Lucy was as confused as me when it came to our pink-haired friend's sudden personality change. 

"He's scared," Mirajane told us. "A few years ago, he challenged Erza to a fight and she beat him up pretty bad."

"That was a stupid thing to do" Lucy gasped.

"After that, she found Gray walking around naked, so she decided to beat him up too" Macao continued with a chuckle.

"And let's not forget, she also beat up Loke for trying to hit on her" added Cana. After Erza had commented on her drinking, the brunette moved on from the large barrel of wine to a simple tankard of ale. 

"Can't say I blame her" I chuckled. 

"Natsu. Gray..." Erza spoke, sternly. "I need you to do me a favor." At her words, Natsu and Gray snapped to attention. Not out of fear, this time, but because they knew that their friend truly needed their help. "While traveling, I overheard something that has me worried" she stated. "Normally, I would consult with the Master before acting, but he's not here and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are the strongest wizards here. I could really use your help."

Gray and Natsu shared a look of shock, then. As surprised murmurs echoed around the guildhall. I could tell by the reactions of the others in the guildhall, that this didn't happen often. The guild members around me stating that this instance of Titania Erza asking for help was a first time thing. 

"We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning," Erza told the boys. 

"Erza, Natsu, and Gray working together? I never saw that one coming" Mirajane commented quietly, awe written on her smiling face. Her sudden voice causing Lucy and me to look at her. "This could be the most powerful team Fairy Tail's ever seen" the white-haired bikini model commented. And even though her face read sheer shock and awe, her blue eyes held an enormous amount of severity. Only solidifying the rumors I had heard about her.

* * *

Mirajane had pulled Lucy and me aside after the spectacle at the guildhall. Asking the two of us to tag along with the trio of powerful wizards. So that we could try and keep Natsu and Gray from fighting while Erza's not looking. 

It was a tough sell, but we knew it was important. So early in the morning, Lucy, Wren, and I all made our way to the train station to meet with the others. My stomach twisted nervously, I was _not_ looking forward to getting on that train.

"You aren't doing a very good job" Happy commented when we told him the real reason why we were here. Looking over to the boys, I couldn't help but sigh deeply. I don't think Mirajane realized just how impossible it would be for us to get Gray and Natsu to stop bickering with each other. 

"They're hopeless" Lucy stated with a small sigh of her own, while Plue shivered on her lap.

"Sorry I'm late" interrupted Erza's voice. "Have you been waiting long?" she asked us. Her voice, causing Gray and Natsu's bickering to cease and their faces to instantly wash over in fear. 

"No, not really" Lucy answered, the two of us looking over to Erza. Both of us gaping in shock. She had so. MUCH. LUGGAGE! Way more than necessary. 

"All those belong to you?!" Wren asked in shock from my lap. The fish he was nibbling on almost dropping from his paws. 

"It's time to go, good buddy" Gray stated nervously with his arm around Natsu's shoulders. 

"Aye!" came Natsu's terrified response.   
Exasperated, Lucy looked at the boys. "Listen, it's bad enough that Wren picked up Happy's phrase. You don't have to start too!"

"Good," Erza smiled. "I really love to see the two of you getting along." Could she really not see that Gray and Natsu were terrified of her? Or did she just not care? "And what were your names?" she asked Lucy and me."I believe I saw the two of you at the guild yesterday."

"My name's Selina" I introduced. "And that's Wren" I added, motioning towards my little white cat.

"And I'm Lucy" my sisters smiled. "And we just joined Fairy Tail not too long ago."

"Mira asked us to come along with you guys so we could learn a thing or two" I explained. Gray and Natsu glaring daggers at each other behind Erza's back. "Is that okay?" I asked. If Erza were to turn us away, I don't know what Lucy and I were going to do. 

"The more the merrier. I'm Erza" she introduced. Her tone cheerful and friendly, despite the sternness that had been in her been in her voice yesterday. "Wait, you're the girls I heard about" commented Erza. As Erza glanced over her shoulder quickly to see if the boys were behaving themselves, I had to hold in a laugh. Gray and Natsu snapping into their fearful, 'we're-best-friends' personas and back to glares in the blink of an eye. "I was told that you, Lucy, defeated a mercenary gorilla using only your pinky finger," Erza told said to my sister before turning to me. "Selina, rumor is that you not only have similar magic to Natsu's, but you used it to wipe out a human trafficking ring. It'll be great to have wizards like the two of you on board. Thanks for your help." 

Both Lucy and I gaped at the wildly exaggerated stories. Sure we had _helped_ take out ONE crazy giant monkey up on Mount Hakobe. And sure, my _**Roar**_ helped take out Bora and his crew. 

But Natsu was the lead player on both of those. Lucy and I mostly just helped. 

"Oh, no, it's our pleasure" Lucy chuckled nervously as she held Plue in a death grip. Poor little thing. 

"I think Lucy's gonna pop Plue's head off" Wren commented quietly, just loud enough that I could hear him from his perch on my shoulder. 

"Hey, Erza, I'll come with you, but only under one condition" Natsu spoke up. I guess he had finally got his confidence back. 

"Shut up!" Gray hissed, and I could barely contain my giggle. 

"Oh?" Erza question, looking back at the two boys. "Well, then, let's hear it."

"'Kay" Natsu smirked. "I wanna rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail."

"What's wrong with you" hissed Gray. "You got some kind of death wish?" he asked frantically.

"I'm a lot stronger than I was last time" Natsu insisted. "This time will be way different. 'Cause I'm gonna beat you."

I was kind of surprised when Erza smirked. "Yes. I can tell you've improved" she stated. "As to whether or not you can beat me, I suppose we'll have to see...I accept your challenge."

"Oh, yea!" Natsu cheered. "I'm fired up!"

* * *

I had almost forgotten about the train. With Wren in my lap, I sat in between Natsu and Gray, resisting the urge to hurl. Gray's scent, honestly, helped. So at least I was just a little bit more coherent. More than Natsu was, anyway. But still, I knew that if I opened my mouth to say anything then poor Happy would be covered in my breakfast. Since he was sitting right in front of me, nibbling a fish between Lucy and Erza. 

"I swear you're totally pathetic, Natsu" Gray sighed. "One minute you're picking a fight, and the next you're like this."

"It's gotta be tough on him getting place to place" Lucy commented. "It sure has been difficult for Selina. And she's only gotten worse."

I really wanted to give my sister the finger. But it was hard enough trying to ignore every bump the train made. So instead, I groaned, my head dropping to my left. The coldness I felt on my temple then, soothed me just a little bit. 

"Don't worry, they'll be fine" Erza said. And I didn't need my eyes open to know that she had a knowing smile on her face. "Come here and sit with me," she said to Natsu. 

"Aye," Natsu said weakly. A moment later I felt him move from the seat beside me and his presence was replaced with my sisters. 

"You doing okay, Lina?" Lucy asked, squeezing my hand lightly. All I could do was give her an affirmative groan and a small nod. My cheek brushing against the soft material covering Gray's shoulder. I wasn't too out of it to not realize that I had been leaning against Gray. 

"Now just relax" I heard Erza say softly. Natsu groaned out another weak 'Aye', and the next thing I knew there was a 'thud'. Which I could only assume meant that Erza had knocked out Natsu. Opening an eye to peek and see that my assumptions were correct. "Aaah, there, that should make the trip a little easier on him," she said. "If you'd like, Selina, I could help you as well" she offered.

"No thank you" I whimpered, hiding my face in Gray's shoulder. I really hope he didn't mind me using him as a pillow. Not that he really had a choice in the matter. If I moved now, I would be in the same state as Natsu was just seconds ago.

"There's no need for that" Lucy all but shrieked from beside me. "Besides, Selina's actually doing much better this time around" she added with a nervous chuckle. 

"Erza," Gray started. The tone in his voice suggested a serious subject change. "I think it's time you started filling us in. I mean, what kind of mission are we going on here?" he asked. Honestly, I had almost forgotten about the mission. 

"Of course" Erza nodded. "I have reason to believe the Dark Guild Eisenwald is planning something big," she told us. "I'm not sure what exactly, but it has to do with a magic item called Lullaby."

A wave of sickening familiarity rushed down my spine. I knew that I recognized that name, and not because 'lullabies' generally were used to help babies sleep. I knew that whatever magic this was, it wasn't good. Especially when a dark guild wanted it. 

"Lullaby?" Gray and Happy said at the same time. 

"Wait, that thing from before?" Lucy asked. I'd almost forgotten about the dark wizards we had taken out in the forest. The weird goblin looking one had mentioned something about Lullaby before they all got taken away. 

I highly doubt it was a coincidence.

From there, Lucy and Gray told Erza of the small group of dark wizards we had taken out the other day. "I see" Erza spoke. "So you've run into the Eisenwald guild before?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not positive they were part of Eisenwald" Gray shrugged, causing me to groan. "Sorry," he said in a voice so quiet I wondered if I was the only one to hear. "But they _did_ mention Lullaby" he continued. 

"It sounds like they were members who dropped out of the Guild and gone into hiding" Erza realized. "Perhaps they wanted no part of whatever it is that's coming."

"So this thing is so bad it even scares dark wizards?" Gray commented. 

"I'm only hypothesizing" was Erza's reply. "But whoever you saw dragging off Happy's kidnappers that day must have been from Eisenwald. It's obvious they didn't want their plans getting out."

That made sense. I'm sure even the legal guilds had some sort of protocol that protected the guild after a member leaves. So it wouldn't really be that much of a surprise if the dark guilds had a similar system set into place. Though I'm sure their means of protecting their guild would be far more sinister. 

"What do you think they're gonna try?" Lucy asked. At my sister's question, Erza began to tell us about how she had first heard the term Lullaby. And being the skilled wizard she was, she was instantly curious. But she hadn't heard much else other than the names 'Kage' and 'Erigor'. "Lullaby" Lucy whispered. "That's like a song you sing kids to sleep."

"Mhmm" I mumbled nauseously, nodding my head against Grays chilled shoulder. 

"And the fact that it had been sealed away means that it must be very powerful magic" added Erza.

"You sure the guys you saw at the pub were with Eisenwald?" questioned Gray.

When Erza cursed and called herself a fool, I wanted to say something. But the ball of nausea in my stomach kept my mouth shut. 

"I didn't recognize his name" she cursed. "Erigor, the Ace of Eisenwald. He _only_ accepts assassination requests. Which is why he's earned the name, 'Erigor the Reaper.'"

"He kills for money?!" Lucy gasped. 

"When the council outlawed assassination requests," Erza continued, "Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the councils' rules. As a result, they were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago. But that didn't stop them. They've disobeyed orders and remained active to this day."

"Okay, I should be headed back now" Lucy squeaked. I could feel her shaking in her spot beside me. 

"Lucy's slimy all of a sudden" Happy chuckled. 

"I'm pretty sure that's sweat, Happy" Wren told the other cat.

Even though my eyes were closed, I knew that Erza had slammed her fist down on Natsu's head. I couldn't help but wince in sympathy. Erza cursed herself for not recognizing Erigors name the moment she had first heard it. Stating that she could have easily pulverized the wizards who had been at the pub that day. And despite not knowing her all that well, I knew that Erza could have easily forced the dark wizards to tell her their plans. 

"So if I got this" Gray interrupted. "Eisenwalds planning to do something with this Lullaby, and you wanna stop them. Because after what you overheard, you're sure that it's gonna be something bad."

"That's correct" Erza confirmed. "And I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can take on an entire magical guild all by myself. That's why I asked for you and Natsu for your help" she said to Gray. "We're storming the Eisenwald guild."

Gray shifted slightly then, but not enough to jostle me. Something I was grateful for. "Sounds like fun to me" I could practically hear the smirk. 

While Lucy and Happy bickered beside me, my arms wrapped around Wren's little body. Drawing comfort from the white cat as I pulled him gently to my chest. In the short time, we've been in Fairy Tail, I knew that my confidence grew slightly. But I was still just as unsure of myself as Lucy was. Even though we had Gray, Erza, and Natsu with us, I highly doubt my sister and I were ready to take on an entire guild that was okay with murder. 

"S'okay, Lina" I heard Wren mutter as he patted my arm with his paw. "I know you can beat the bad guys." I wanted to respond, to let my friend know that I appreciated his words. But all I could do was let out a soft whimper through my nausea. "Poor Lina" Wren sighed. 

With a chuckle, Erza assured me that we would be stopping soon. That way we could grab something to eat and stretch our legs. And thankfully take a break from the motion sickness. 

When we finally stopped, we had left Natsu and Happy on the train while the rest of us went to get a few sandwiches, drinks, even a carrot for Plue and fish for the cats. I had even been able to score a bottle of iced coffee too. I just hoped we had time to eat before the train started moving. 

If the train wasn't moving, then I wouldn't be as sick. Sure, I'd still be a little queasy, but I'd be okay enough to scarf down what I could. Unlike Natsu, who still lay unmoving on the bench seat. 

When the train started moving again, I instantly clenched my mouth shut as I screwed the cap back on my iced coffee. Though the nausea wasn't as bad as it was before. While I didn't feel like I could speak without hurling, I could sit up in my seat and at the very least nod. 

"If you don't mind" Lucy spoke as she held her sandwich. "What kind of magic do you practice, Erza?" asked my sister. Now that she mentioned it, I don't remember seeing anything about Erza or Gray that could reveal what kind of magic they used. 

"Erza's magic is really pretty" Happy spoke. "She makes her enemies bleed... _a lot._ " The blue cat's answer made me chuckle slightly. 

"I don't know if I'd call that pretty, Happy" Wren told his friend through a mouthful of sushi. 

As she carefully speared a piece of her strawberry cake, Erza smiled lightly. "Personally, I think Gray's magic is much more beautiful than mine."

"Oh like this?" I watched intently as Gray held his arms out. His fist placed in the palm of his open hand. Suddenly the cold air that seemed to surround him turned even colder as his icy blue magic circle came forward. A second later, Gray moved his fist and a replica of the Fairy Tail emblem was left in his palm. "I use ice magic," Gray told us. Using his magic to levitate the ice figure, the emblem floating inches from my face. 

With a small giggle, I took the emblem in my hands. "It's so pretty" I managed to speak. As the ice emblem began to melt, I placed it in my mouth. Allowing the water to soothe my upset stomach.   
I'm gonna have to keep Gray around if he made it this easy for me to travel. I was barely even nauseous and the water boost seemed to take me back down to a more queasy level. 

"Now I understand why you and Natsu don't get along" Lucy commented. "He's fire and you're ice. Talk about not mixing very well" she added. 

"I never thought about that" Erza chuckled. 

Gray simply shrugged. "Nah I just hate his guts."

"But your magic would work great with Lina's!" Wren spoke up cheerfully. 

"That's right, you use a type of water magic right?" asked the ice wizard. 

Since all I could do was nod, Wren spoke for me. "Lina's the Water Dragon Slayer" he explained proudly. "So her water magic is _really_ powerful. She saved me from an evil Vulcan!" 

"Really" Erza smiled. The sternness in her voice slipping into a more good-natured tone as she spoke to the tiny cat. Wren gave a happy 'mm-hm' as he nibbled on a bit of the sushi I had gotten him for lunch. 

As the train moved on, the others chatted amicably. While Lucy told Erza about the truth behind the rumors she had heard about us. Explaining that while it was true I had used my dragon slayer magic to help Natsu defeat Bora, we definitely didn't break up an entire sex trafficking ring. And I certainly didn't do it by myself. From there, she told Erza of our rescue of Macao. How the elder wizard had taken on nineteen monsters before finally being taken over by the twentieth. Once more our involvement in that fight had been minimal. 

After hearing our story, Erza took to beating herself up once more. Scolding herself for being to hard on Macao. Vowing to apologize to him when we returned to the guild. Erza calmed down after that and our little group chatted amicably for the rest of the train ride. Though Natsu and I contributed very little to the conversation. 

Soon enough, the train was pulling in to Onibas Station. I couldn't help but give a little cheer when we were finally on un-moving ground. "You think the Eisenwald guys are still gonna be in this town?" Gray asked as we got off the train. 

"I have no idea" Erza answered honestly. "That's what we're here to find out."

As we walked, with Wren and Happy sitting on Erza's massive luggage trolley, Lucy shook nervously. "I'm still thinking maybe I should go home" my sister stammered. 

"Hold on" Happy spoke up from his seat beside Wren. "Where's Natsu?" asked the cat. 

Lucy gasped in realization. We had left poor Natsu on the train. So we turned around and walked back towards the train to grab our queasy friend. "Uh-Oh, there he goes" Happy commented as we watched the train take off. 

"We were so busy talking, I forgot about him" Erza stated. "I am such a fool" she cursed. "Natsu hates all forms of transportation. This is _all_ my fault. I need one of you to come and hit me for my penance."

"That's a little much," Lucy told her.

I was only a little surprised when Erza took it upon herself to pull the emergency stop lever. Completely unbothered as one of the train station workers told her she wasn't allowed to stop the train. She also told to take our luggage to the hotel for us. Which the man took offense to, since he was not only _not_ a bellhop, but he didn't even work for the hotel. 

"I'm starting to realize that all of the wizards in the Fairy Tail guild are just a little insane" Lucy muttered from beside me. 

"That includes us now, Luce," I told my sister with a smile.

"Well, not all of us" Gray added, once again he had stripped down to his boxers. 

"Gray!" I exclaimed, "Where are your clothes!?" 

"Come on, let's rent a Magic-Mobile" Erza suggested. "We can get Natsu and bring him back."

"Sounds like a plan" I agreed, even though I hated it. The train station rented out a lot of different magic vehicles, so we had a few to choose from. So the moment we rented one, Lucy, the cats, and I hopped into the back. Gray barely having time to grab on and lift himself up onto the roof as Erza connected the SE plug and sped away. 

While the others kept an eye out for the train, I was forcing back nausea. My eyes closed as I leaned my head back against the seat. Briefly, I wished Gray had made it to the back seat so that I could eat some of his ice. It seemed to help on the train. 

From what I could tell, it didn't take us very long to finally catch up with the train. I winced when I heard Lucy called out for Natsu, followed shortly by a loud crash from the roof. I could only assume that meant that Natsu and Gray had collided. Knowing Natsu, he had either jumped from the train or had been thrown off somehow. 

The second Erza brought the Magic-Mobile to a complete stop, I jumped from the vehicle and breathed deeply. "Natsu, are you alright?!" Erza asked the pink-haired dragon slayer. Both he and Gray were sprawled out on the ground, and both of them were looking a little bruised up. 

"Aye," Natsu whimpered. 

Once my stomach calmed down, I took Gray's cool hand in mine and helped him off the ground. "That hurt, you idiot!" Gray shouted. 

"Shut up, you icy freak" Natsu responded. "How come you guys left me on the train?" he asked us. 

"I'm just thankful you weren't badly injured" Erza replied as she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him against her armored chest. "I apologize, Natsu."

"It's okay," Natsu whimpered. I couldn't help but wince, between the motion sickness and everything else, I felt bad for the guy. "Well, I'm shaken up pretty bad" he added when he finally pulled away from Erza. "I got attacked by a weirdo on the train."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked as we exchanged a look of worry. 

Natsu nodded in response. "I think it's the dude that dragged away the guys who were gonna eat Happy. Said he was with Eisenwald."

"You fool!" Erza cursed, slapping Natsu across the face and sending him flying. "That is _exactly_ who we're chasing after on this mission. Why did you let him get away?!" she shouted. 

Natsu looked at the redhead in confusion. "What the...? This is the first I heard about it."

"I explained everything on the train," she told him. "You should listen when people talk to you."

"She already forgot that she knocked him out, didn't she?" Lucy asked rhetorically and I sighed.

"Looks like it" I shook my head slightly in disbelief. 

"This woman is unbelievable."

"Yep," Gray nodded from beside me. 

"That's Erza for ya!" Happy grinned, causing Wren to shake his head with a little giggle. 

Without a word, Erza sat in the driver's seat of the Magic-Mobile and strapped the SE plug around her wrist once again. "So he was on the same train that we were on" she surmised. "Let's find him.'

"But what was this guy like?" Gray asked Natsu. I nodded in agreement, it would help to know what this Eisenwald wizard looked like. Make our jobs a little bit easier. 

Natsu pondered for a second before speaking. "He didn't look like somebody from a dark guild," he told us. "But he did have this strange flute thing. It looked like a skull," said Natsu. "Except it had three eyes."

"A three-eyed skull?" gasped Lucy. 

"That's kinda creepy" I shuddered.

Gray nodded in agreement. "You said it."

Looking at my sister, I saw a look of concentration on her face. She was deep in thought as if the mention of a three eyes skull jogged her mind. "Something wrong, Lu?" I asked, gaining the attention of our friends. 

"It's just, I've heard about that flute before," she told us as Erza slowly backed the Magic Mobile towards us. "Lullaby...the cursed song...Its _death_ _magic_!" Lucy realized. 

"What?" Erza and I both gasped.

"A cursed song? Like an incantation?" asked Gray.

Lucy shook her head. "I've only ever read about them in books before," she told us. Before we ran away, Lucy and I spent a lot of time in our family's library. Lucy read just about everything that the extensive Heartfilia Library had to offer, while I did my best to find and delve into different types of water magic along with the different types of Slayer Magic. "But there are some deadly spells out there that are forbidden to be used by wizards."

Erza nodded. "That's right," she said, her voice dripping with severity. "There are cursed black magic spells that will kill the person they're used on."

"If Lucy's right" I spoke, my eyes wide as small waves of fear rumbled in my belly. "Then Lullaby mus be even worse than the normal black magic spells. " Without another word, Lucy, Gray and the cats all started to load into the back of the Magic Mobile. Beside me, Natsu's face paled as he slapped a hand over his mouth, while nausea began to bubble in my stomach. "Do we have to?" I groaned. 

Erza simply gave Natsu and me a stern look, snapping the fire dragon slayer to attention and all but forcing him into the back seat beside Lucy. Reluctantly, I followed and the second the door closed, Erza sped towards our destination. Motion sickness leaving Natsu and I incapacitated in the backseat as Erza pushed her magic into the vehicle. Going faster than I thought possible, and hitting every bump she could on the way. 


End file.
